Any Old Thing
Weekly Update 5/28/2023 to 6/3/2023 #175
When given a chance to talk about something, be prepared to talk about anything. Before I venture down this path though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor the the best smalltown in America.
As we work our way through the process with the Brookings Institute Study, we have a few different types of meetings. This week, we had our cohort meeting with Warsaw and Michigan City. We had a chance to hear from guest speakers who have worked on the next steps of this study and help us work towards the best outcomes possible when finished. Thank you to everyone from around the country who has been a part of this work.
Congratulations to Eric Roll on the promotion to Assistant Fire Chief. The quality of applicants was wonderful and made the decision very difficult. The assistant chief will have many duties assigned to him to help improve the department as a whole. A focus on the inspections division will help improve our ISO rating during the next review process. A continued effort on training will help keep our firefighters safe when they are on the job. These are just a few of the areas he will have to work on. For those of you who don’t know, Assistant Chief Roll has served our community for 33 years with the Seymour Fire Department in many different roles. Congratulations again, Eric, on your promotion.
This past week, I had a chance to learn to operate the bucket truck and help with some paint work at Parks and Recreation. Thanks to Rick Phillips for the quick tutorial and the good conversation as we wrapped up the trim work and were able to leave the building looking good for upcoming events like Pig in the Park in August hosted by Seymour Noon Lions.
When you get a late-night invite to share lunch at a local restaurant with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Parliament member David Rutley and British Consul General Alan Gogbashian, you prepare to talk about whatever might come up. As we sat down for lunch with the delegation from the United Kingdom, we chatted about ways we could share information across the ocean and help to make our parts of the world better in the process. From vertical farming to sharing ideas on how to educate our future generations, we explored many different pieces during the conversation. I had a chance to learn of the MOU that was recently signed between the UK and Indiana, which was a first, as well as many other states who have followed suit since. Thank you to everyone in attendance for the chance to grow and learn from around the world. I share this to be able to talk about being ready on so many topics at any given time. When the invite came in, I figured we would talk about economic development in the area of industry. As I was introduced to Bruce Kettler, who is the President and CEO of Agribusiness Council of Indiana, I realized I had to change my thoughts about what is going on in our area around agriculture and what I have learned from tours of the Seymour schools Ag Center here in Seymour and a chance I had to present to Crothersville FFA earlier this year. Throw in many conversations with friends who farm for a living and I wasn’t in my normal element when it came to the conversation, but I believe I was able to highlight the positives we have here in our area and put our best foot forward to our new friends from the UK. Today, I want to leave you with a quote from General Robert Baden-Powell, " 'Be Prepared.' 'Be prepared for what?' 'Why, for any old thing.' "