Terry Brown

I like sports shooting. I belong to the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club. I occasionally get to do some sports shooting. I like taking the girls and go there with Jeanne, and we do some plinking and long-distance shooting. The girls are naturals. It’s amazing.
Describe one of the highlights of your life.
Being married to Jeanne. She fits every part of my life. She anticipates my needs and wants, and she supports anything and everything that I do. And she’s my best friend.
Describe one of the biggest surprises of your life.
Having so many people show their love to me, their kindness and gentleness and compassion. That’s what this place has given me. I see it when they come in and they’re concerned about how we’re doing in our business, our family, and our life.
Describe one of the tragedies/struggles of your life.
The loss of my mentor, Wilson F. Flagg, in Flight 77 on 9/11. At one time he was my commanding officer in a unit in Washington, D.C., in 1976, and I knew him until he died. He and his wife were on Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. He lived in Middleburg, Virginia, and was a rear admiral. He wasn’t just a commanding officer – he was my friend and mentor. That was a tragedy on that day for so many.
His family contacted me when he died. I went to his funeral and internment at Annapolis. We did a lot of things together. I flew with him. He had an airplane that I used to work on with him. It was a lot of fun.
Describe a dream you have for your future.
To have my country remain free. With so many things going on in the world we need to understand that freedom is not free. It’s at a cost. All the military people would understand that. And hopefully our civilian cadres understand that the military is what keeps us free. In such turmoil we need to look toward our God for this to turn around. I believe if we don’t make adjustments in our way of doing things that we have more 9/11s in our future. I would hate to see that. One’s enough.
Describe a fear you have for your future.
The loss of my freedoms and rights. If our Congress doesn’t get moving, if they don’t do what the people are asking them to do, we will lose those freedoms and rights and be told more what to do and how to do it. We need to be able to express our feelings for our beliefs in Jesus Christ more freely and more openly. I fear for our second amendment, the right to bear arms, our freedom of speech, and the freedom of owning our own properties without them being taken away from us.
Here’s your chance to sound off. If you could give one public service announcement or one word of advice to the public at large, what would it be?
To love one another; to serve others and not to be served. The Bible says that the second-most commandment is to love one another as ourselves. We need to understand that Jesus didn’t come here to be served – he came here to serve, and that’s how we should be walking in our servanthood to others, in our community and our schools, our vocations, and our homes.
Just today, a family called me and said that they didn’t have any heat in these freezing temperatures. The husband had a cast on his foot after an operation. I made some phone calls. The men from the Cunningham United Methodist Church stepped up and delivered a truckload of wood to the family for free at minute’s notice.
Another woman gave me a phone call and said she needed a wheelchair. We got her a wheelchair, just by word of mouth, putting it on Facebook. People responded to her needs. We had a food drive here at Mailbox Express and got a tub of food from our customers. It’s here. Our doors are open. When somebody’s struggling I want them to let us know so we can help them.