An open letter of thanks to residents of Granbury and Hood County from the Reed family

It’s hard to believe that we are closing in on the one-year anniversary of our son, Trevor’s, release from the Russian prison system where he spent 985 days wrongfully detained by the Russian government. Understandably, unlike the previous almost three years, this past year has flown by rapidly for us. While we, as his parents, were extremely elated to have him back home, and never wanted to leave his side, we knew that we would have to balance our desires to smother him with his need for space to adjust back to normal. It hasn’t always been easy to do that, but we are all just doing the best that we can!

Very early on since his return home, Trevor felt a strong sense of obligation to speak out for Paul Whelan, a fellow Marine that was left behind in Russia. He did a few TV interviews to speak a little bit about his own experience, but mostly to advocate for the many other Americans being held hostage or wrongfully detained in many other countries. After that, he decided to step back and take some much needed (time) for himself. He has been busy getting some college applications in to continue working toward his degree in Foreign Services/International Studies degree. He seems to have adjusted well and I can see his old silly personality daily. I am excited to see where his future takes him!

We will forever be grateful to President Biden for approving the prisoner swap and members of the State Department that went to collect Trevor and returned him to us. But we also want to acknowledge the many businesses and individuals in and around Granbury and Hood County that were generous to our family and helped us feel supported during the darkest time of our lives. Our family only moved to Granbury around 2014. Neither Joey, myself, or our children grew up here. But you took us all in your warm embrace and we are so grateful for all the kindness you sent our way.

I honestly, can’t begin to count the number of people that stopped me at grocery stores, doctor’s offices, or at restaurants to let me know that our family was in their prayers. That was such a blessing for me to hear. We also had some people donate their time, talents, and products to help create car decals and T-shirts that would enable us to bring awareness to Trevor’s story. Others let us pin up posters or place business cards on their counters. Others let us use their copy machines for free and many individuals helped me pass out flyers or shared our story on Facebook. It may have seemed like a small, insignificant gesture to you, but to us, it was everything.

And finally, we are so grateful to everyone that donated to our GoFundMe account. It truly is so hard to quantify how much that helped us. And after writing this all out, it occurs to me that saying a simple ‘Thank you’ is not nearly sufficient to express the depth of our gratitude to the many locals that helped us out. Just please know, we felt the love and support from all of you! I can never name everyone individually but do want to mention these following businesses and individuals that stepped up in a really big way for us. If you see these names of businesses and you don’t already do business with them, please consider doing so.

Bee Healthy Nutrition Center; Amy Winters Design – Amy Winters; Fleet Ink, LLC; The Chiropractic Center – Dr. Troy Shannon; The Hood County News; Sherry Scott; Firehouse Café Granbury; Crystal Munn; Mama’s Pizza Granbury; Mi Familia Granbury; Village Nail Spa; The UPS Store No. 4093 – Traci and Patrick Devaney; Ace Hardware – Hico; Main Street Banners and Signs Weatherford; Jim Jarrett, Granbury mayor;  Sew Much Love – Laurie and Mark Cohen and quilters. 

A million thank-you’s from the bottom of our hearts,

The Reed Family - Paula, Joey Taylor and Trevor