‘Val’ Is An Exemplary Neighbor
This week’s neighbor is one many may know by recognition—Valerie Goolsby Ellison. “Val,” as many often refer to her, is a native and lifelong resident of Jasper County.
She celebrated a birthday last week and was glad to see it come. The daughter of Johnnie Mae Goolsby and the late Otis Goolsby admits to having faced many challenges in life but credits her faith in God, family and friends with seeing her through some tough times.
“For the core of my life there is God, my husband, family and friends,” Val noted.
If not a local native, you may recognize her from many places, Valerie worked eight years in the local school syStem before spending 22 years working with the Department of Family & Children Services. When she found herself retired a little over four years ago from DFCS it didn’t last long because within two weeks she was off to work at Monticello Drugs where she toils alongside her “store family,” as she calls them.
“I have learned a lot about pharmaceutical life, medicine, and what it takes to keep a store running. I have a very good boss (David Leach). Our drug store family works together to keep it going.”
Its no wonder that Valerie has found herself working with people again seeking to help improve their welfare. First at the school helping kids, then at DFCS aiding families and now helping those with their medicinal needs.
Valerie admits to being a people person and loving to smile and due to those character traits rarely meets a stranger. A couple of weeks ago she was dropping off a church announcement, which she often does as their “public relations person,” and as she cheerfully entered and exited I thought to myself “that’s our next neighbor.” I have really known her my whole life and in doing so known her to be really resilient.
Valerie grew up attending Springfield Baptist Church with her late father (the church has a memorial in his memory) and brother, Darrell. Later in life she found her way to Holy Nation Church with her now spiritual family. Worship at at Holy Nation has made her stronger in her walk with God and made her the woman she has become, she said.
And Valerie credits that to the spirItual leadership of the church’s founder, the late Overseer Rosa Mae Braswell, and the current Bishop Patricia Standifer. Through her worship at Holy Nation, Valerie has become an ordained evangelist and met her husband of about 17 months, Samuel Ellison, there. He currently serves as the Minister of Music there and their union was destined from the start—when you see her ask how a broken cake led to mending the broken pieces of life. Together they are the guardians to three beautiful souls.
Valerie notes it doesn’t take much to make her happy. She is glad that God created “me to be me” and that wherever she goes her goal is to have a postive impact on people’s lives.
Though she works at a pharmacy, she has found that laughter can be a great source of medicine in life and that’s why comedy is favorite type of entertainment.
A bit of advice she would give to anyone is to “put God first in life and be concerned about yourself as well as others.”
