Senator Warner spent most of Thursday traveling in Southside Virginia. As the Senator joked at the first event in Martinsville, as Governor he spent so much time in the region that his staff said that they should just route his mail there.

“As Governor and now as Senator, I have just loved being a part of Southside reinventing itself,” Senator Warner said. “This community just doesn’t know the meaning of giving up.”

Senator Warner was at the Dyers Store Fire Department in Martinsville to announce a grant for the Martinsville/Henry County Fire and EMS Department. The grant will allow the Department to hire 13 more emergency responders to help protect the public. Volunteer firefighters, whom the Senator thanked for their service, also help to staff Dyers Store.

“We’ve got 48,000 volunteer fire personnel and rescue personnel around the Commonwealth,” Senator Warner said. “We couldn’t provide the level of service that is necessary without your willingness to give back to your community.”

The Senator also held a roundtable at Smart Beginnings in Danville, for which Senator Warner helped secure funding as governor. Before participating in a roundtable focused on early childhood education, Senator Warner stopped into the 4-year-old classroom to read a short book to the kids.

“It’s not enough just to keep funding and restoring cuts and putting more kids through the system,” Smart Beginnings Executive Director Ann Stratton said during the later event, which focused the potential economic impact of education on the region. “It’s about keeping that accountability and keeping those standards high, to make sure these children are as prepared as possible when they get to school.”

Senator Warner stopped in South Boston and Richmond later on Thursday before heading to Hampton Roads for Friday.