To the Editor:

Thank you Smoky Mountain News and Becky Johnson for writing an article bringing to a close the chapter on the proposed annexation of Lake Junaluska with Waynesville.  Your coverage was excellent and served all parties with factual information. 

A lesson all can learn from this experience is that relationships are more important than our personal opinions. Another is to make the best of any situation.

The improvements made to the Conference and Retreat Center and to the Department of Public Works are a reflection of the attributes of Jack Ewing and Jack Carlisle. Their dedication to the Lake Junaluska Mission Statement plus their leadership through and beyond controversy is greatly appreciated. Both will leave huge shoes to fill sometime in the future.

Ron Clauser

Lake Junaluska