Friends,
If you’re reading this email, you probably know who I am (if not… hi, I’m Tim!).
But since I’m running to continue representing Virginia in the U.S. Senate — and since I regularly ask for your support in this effort — I want to take a moment to tell you more about who I am, what I stand for, and what’s at stake in the race this year.
Growing up, my dad had an ironworking shop that my brothers and I helped out in. Sometimes, I had a fun day planned on a Saturday morning, but I would hear my dad come to my room, wake me up, and say he had a big order he needed to fill. A family business meant we were all going to pitch in.
In that business, I learned what a strong work ethic is — and I also saw the power of career and technical education. I grew up seeing all of these great ironworkers doing incredible work. That stayed with me.
After high school and college, I went to law school. Some of my classmates were discussing how much money they could make on Wall Street, and even though I didn’t know much about that, I knew it wasn’t the route for me. So I took a year off to volunteer with missionaries in Honduras.
When I got there, my mentor asked what I could do, and I told him I was a law student — he told me that was useless. I told him about working in my Dad’s ironworking shop. He said, “Okay, now we’re talking.” He had just started a school to teach carpentry to teenagers, and I got to add a welding class and a night school for adults.
