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NATCHEZ — Christy Anderson had a message for her hometown heroes. She just needed a little help from two area companies to deliver it to them.

The Natchez native and Houston nurse wanted to post uplifting messages in front of the area’s three hospitals to let area healthcare workers know their heroic work fighting COVID-19 is not going unnoticed and unappreciated.

Anderson reached out to friend and AmeriCare Home Health Marketing Director Jenny Townsend to see if she could help.

Anderson sent a picture of banners displayed in other communities across the country.

“She sent me a picture of what other communities are doing and said she wanted to do that for her hometown,” Townsend said. “I started thinking, who around here can help.”

Townsend reached out to local trucking company Jordan Carriers. Townsend’s husband Woody works as the company’s IT director, and Jenny knew the company could print out banners much quicker than it would take to order them.

“I reached out to Kristin Jordan and told her the idea,” Townsend said. “She was excited about it and thought it was great.”

Soon after Jenny and Woody Townsend were traveling across the Miss-Lou putting up banners in front of Merit Health Natchez, River Bridge Specialty Hospital in Vidalia and Riverland Medical Center in Ferriday.

Jordan Carriers donated the materials and the printing costs for the banners.

The banners which say in big, bold blue letters “Heroes work here” are a message to the doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers who are battling the COVID-19 virus night and day, Townsend said.

“When they come into work every day or every night, we hope to bring a smile and let them know that the community is thinking about them,” Jenny Townsend said. “That the community does appreciate everything that they are doing.”

“And the sacrifices that they are making,” Woody Townsend said.

With all of the restrictions that have been put in place, Jenny said taking food and other gifts of appreciation to hospital staff is now more difficult.

Townsend and Anderson thought the banner was a unique way to show support.

“Christy wanted to let her hometown know that she is still thinking about them,” Jenny said. “We wanted (everyone at the hospital) to know we are behind them, that we support them.”