Across the Universe

Weekly Update 12/10/2023 to 12/16/2023 #203


Shortly before I turned ten years old, The Firm released the song “Star Trekkin’” and one particular line is on my mind as I sit down to write this week’s column. Let me share some of my week as mayor of the best small town in America before I boldly go forward with this thought though.


This past week, during the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, we approved the 2024 contracts for both Police and Fire. Besides the usual cost of living raise, police will get a bump in the night shift incentive and an increase in the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Certified Instructor pay. With the contract approval for fire, we also added cancer screenings for the department and recent retirees every other year. Caring for the health of our firefighters, who face increased exposure to carcinogens, made this contract addition an easy item to approve. Hopefully, we never find a thing with the new screenings, but if we do it should be much earlier than before. Thank you to all our public safety officials for all you do.


As the end of the year approaches, we have several final meetings for 2023. Each year, I have a dozen to two dozen appointments to make across several boards. One of those appointments is for the Airport Authority, and after 40 years of service, Dr. Blaisdell is retiring. I can’t thank him enough for his service to not just the aviation community, but to the community as a whole. Before I started conversations I knew that I would like to have someone who understood both the aviation side and business experience. After several conversations, I chose Ryan Williams to serve on the board. He was a member of the Aviation Club in high school and would wash and wax planes at the field to earn flight time. Combine that with his business experience as an adult and I believe he will quickly get up to speed and work well with the current members to help the airport continue to move towards the future.


To continue moving forward, I will hop back to the opening paragraph. Somewhere around the late 80s early 90s, I would tune into the Dr. Demento Show on Sunday nights via 1390 AM here in Seymour. One song that came along was “Star Trekkin’” by The Firm with the line “boldly going forward, because we can’t find reverse” has always stuck with me. Many years ago, as I set out to start our family business, it wasn’t an easy process, but we kept moving forward and trying to find the way to make it work. When I decided to try doing triathlons, I couldn’t believe it when someone shared that they failed at their first several attempts and that I shouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t finish. Even introducing new programs like Curb Appeal a few years ago has carried the same philosophy of keep moving forward. Each time, it isn’t that we don’t have reverse, but that we have to keep progressing. When starting that business, you have to keep working through hard times to get to the better times. As a triathlete, I never considered stopping even though I am not a good swimmer. I still made it across the finish line every time I started a race. With Curb Appeal, we have over the last three years invested around $20,000 to match almost $145,000 in private dollars to improve the looks of many area homes. Today, I want to leave you with a Martin Luther King Jr. quote on moving forward, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

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