When President John F. Kennedy spoke his famous words in 1961 — “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” — he called the country into service.

Dr. William Ferguson “Fergie” Reid Sr. answered that call. In 1968, he became the first Black delegate elected to the Virginia House of Delegates since Reconstruction. At 100 years old, Dr. Reid Sr. is still fighting, still encouraging new leaders, and personally called Cindy Green to thank her for running and offer his support.

And just as Sr. answered Kennedy’s call, Cindy Green says she answered the call when Dr. Fergie Reid Jr., his son, reached out to her to do the same.

Cindy credits Sr.’s example and Jr.’s mentorship with giving her the courage to step forward. Dr. Reid Sr. has often said, “Every election is a dress rehearsal for the next election.” His words remind Cindy that every campaign matters, whether in a blue district or a red one.

Dr. Reid Jr., founder of the 90 for 90 movement, gave Cindy the final push. He reminded her through sports analogies that you cannot decide not to show up just because the odds seem long. “We have to keep showing up,” he told her, “and keep building the team”, and “Every election is practice for the next.”

The 90 for 90 project has recruited or mentored dozens of candidates, and in 2025 alone Jr. has worked with more than 20 candidates for the House of Delegates. Cindy is proud to be one of them.

Cindy was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. When she was seven years old her younger brother was killed in a tragic accident. That loss tore her family apart. Her parents divorced. Her mother remarried. The new home was marked by abuse.

Eventually her mother found the courage to leave, but the years that followed were not easy. Cindy and her siblings lived in a two-bedroom house, with no car and very little money. They survived on public assistance and food stamps. She still remembers paying for lunch with little blue paper tickets in school and the quiet shame that came with it.

At fifteen she took her first job at McDonald’s so she could buy her own school clothes. At eighteen she became a mother and promised her daughter she would build a better life for her.

Cindy enrolled in community college. While her daughter attended daycare on campus, she attended classes. She earned her associate’s degree and proved to herself that she could do more.

When she returned to the region in 1988 she started work as a receptionist at a car dealership. Over the next twenty years she worked her way up into finance. When the 2008 financial collapse cost her that job, she started over again, this time in the nonprofit sector.

She began in an entry level position, went back to school for her bachelor’s in business administration, and rose to become Director of Financial Services. Today she works as a lender at a larger nonprofit, helping towns, counties, housing developers, and small businesses get the resources they need to grow. Her career has been built on helping others succeed.

Cindy’s daughters are proof of what can happen when opportunity and determination come together. Her oldest graduated from Emory and Henry and built a career in the corporate world. Her youngest went to Virginia Tech, earned a graduate degree from ETSU, and now works as a licensed therapist. Cindy is now a grandmother and proud that her granddaughter is being raised in the community she calls home.

To Cindy, this is what America should be. A place where government does not hold people back but helps lift them up. Community college, food assistance, and affordable daycare did not hand her success. They gave her the chance to earn it.

Cindy Green is running for the House of Delegates because she wants those chances to still exist. She believes the government should work for the people, not against them.

Her priorities are safe schools, safe communities, and strong families. She will stand up to bullies in any form. She will fight for healthcare rights, protections for children, and opportunities for working families.

Cindy has seen firsthand what happens when leaders turn their backs on rural Virginia. She believes the people of Bristol, Washington County, and Russell County deserve to be represented by someone who has lived their struggles, understands their challenges, and is committed to working for solutions that last.

When Cindy looks back at her life she sees hardship, but she also sees opportunity. She knows what the government can do because she lived it. And now she is ready to give back.

Just as Dr. Reid Sr. answered President Kennedy’s call in 1968, Cindy Green answered the call when Dr. Reid Jr. urged her to run. She knows this race is bigger than one election. It is about showing up, building the team, and keeping hope alive for Southwest Virginia.

As President Kennedy said more than sixty years ago, the question is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. For Cindy Green, the answer is clear: she can serve, fight, and give back to the people of District 44.

Final Words for Voters

Cindy Green isn’t the choice of corporate PACs or big-dollar lobbyists. Her opponent is bankrolled by outfits like Dominion Energy, swimming in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash. Cindy doesn’t have that kind of money… What she’s got is character.

She’s a hard worker. A great listener. A neighbor who knows what it means to start from nothing and fight for every step forward. She’s lived the struggles Southwest Virginia families live every day, and she’s never forgotten how to listen, how to learn, and how to keep showing up.

If you believe Southwest Virginia deserves someone who will work just as hard for you as you work for your family, then this is your chance to help.

Click, give what you can, and know you’re backing a leader who will never stop fighting for safe schools, strong families, and communities that matter more than corporate profits.

Support Cindy Green. Donate today.  (Click)

John W. Peace II is a fifth-generation farmer from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, where he grew up on his family’s dairy, Clinch Haven Farms, and still lives today farming hay and beef cattle. He’s a proud father to Trey and Shelby Peace, and partner in life to Cathy Swinney. A Virginia Tech graduate with graduate studies at Penn State, he served as the youngest Chair of the Wise County Board of Supervisors (2004–2008). John co-owns SafeHavenServices.co and urTOPIX LLC (urTopixLLC.com), a Democratic campaign consulting firm focused on reaching rural voters that is sponsored by www.RuralAmericaRising.com PAC. He’s also a two-time Amazon bestselling author. Learn more at www.JohnWPeace.com.