Last Friday at the Randolph County Board of Commissioners meeting, the commissioners took a moment to recognize the passing of a prominent man in the county.
Following Randolph County Health Administrator Angela Oathout’s report, where she noted the county’s first COVID-19 related death, Commissioner Marc Kiehna wanted to comment on the passing of Don Welge, the president and CEO of Gilster-Mary Lee.
“It’s a significant death for Randolph County and we need to recognize his contributions.” Among those contributions were being a large employer, a philanthropist and promoting the county.
“His contributions can’t be understated,” Kiehna said, adding that Welge grew the company from 20 employees to become one of the area’s biggest employers with thousands of employees across multiple states. “We want to recognize him, his accomplishments and send condolences to his family.”
The other commissioners shared their condolences.
As for Oathout’s report, as of that morning, April 17, the county had 50 confirmed cases. Of those, only 18 were active, with 13 recovering at home and five in hospitals. A total of 31 had recovered and been released to resume normal activities.
For more from the Board of Commissioners meeting, please see this week’s print edition.