When looking up the definition of “hospitality” — using either Dictionary.com or the trusty, dog-eared copy of Webster’s — it is somewhat surprising that a picture of a local woman isn’t included.
Lenise Lynch could be considered the ultimate embodiment of that principle as it pertains to the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. She exhibits this not only in her job as longtime general manager of Hampton Inn on Rockford Street in Mount Airy, but through charitable efforts and other service in the community.
This further is evidenced by how Lynch defines herself, aside from what’s in the dictionary, taking an old standard of being a people person a notch higher:
“I’m a people’s person,” she said — as in plural — which reflects the attitude the highly active Rotary Club member displays toward folks from all segments of society whom she comes into contact with on various levels. “I feel like my purpose in life is to serve others.”
Hails from New York City
While the qualities of warmth and friendliness toward strangers often are linked to this part of the country — as with the term “Southern hospitality” — it is interesting to learn that Lenise Lynch actually comes from a place much different.
“I was born in Queens, New York,” Lynch said of the largest borough in the Big Apple.
So how did she wind up in rural Surry County?
“I…
