Busy Month
Weekly Update #254 12/1/2024 to 12/7/2024
Another busy week in what might be the busiest part of the year. Enjoy a quick look back at my week serving as the mayor of the best small town in America.
Monday night the annual Santa Tour rolled off with Santa making his way around Seymour via Seymour Fire Department’s Engine 14. With work early in the year by Seymour Parks and Recreation, Seymour Fire Department, Seymour Police Department, Seymour Department of Public Works, and the jolly guy in the big red suit everything came together. As always there were a few bugs that will be in the debrief to be worked on for the 2025 tour, but over the week, I know several reached out to share their stories and say thanks. Thank you to everyone involved this year for all your efforts on the Santa Tour.
This week, during a work visit with Water Pollution Control, I had a chance to experience something new. I got to participate in an industry inspection with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. This was a chance for not only a learning experience for the two employees in charge of these inspections to learn from IDEM, but a chance for the WPC director and assistant director to join in as well. I am sure that I won’t remember everything from the visit, but when someone asks a question on the topic, I do now have a better understanding of what they are looking for and many random items that may be found when they are out. Thank you to the group from IDEM for the chance to learn and thank you to our WPC team for all the work they do on a regular basis that many may never notice.
Several members of the city team helped by working a booth at the Seymour Middle School Reality Fair organized by Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation. This event is a good chance for students to learn about budgeting and the costs associated with living. I spent my time working the cell phone booth where I used my best sales voice to try and convince them they needed the cream of the crop plan with all the bells and whistles. It was interesting that when they came to our booth first, many had no problem spending on the top plan. The ones that had been to housing and the childcare booth first often opted for a lower plan. To everyone who volunteered a round of applause for taking time out of your busy day to help teach the next generation about the future. To those who organized thank you for all you do in our community.
I opened today with a reference to the busiest part of the year. I know it is different for everyone, but for me Thanksgiving to New Year’s is always non stop. This is the point in the year where my mind really starts to switch to the next year. All the events, both work and personal, seem to take up many nights and weekends. For most it is a joyous time of year with all the holidays being celebrated. For me this year, I seemed to have gotten in the mood a little early with the Joy to the Workplace contest between city departments. That isn’t always the case for everyone though, and I encourage you to keep that in mind over the next few weeks. Maybe they are facing their first December without a loved one. It could be their first time away from home. The reasons are numerous, but I hope that as you interact with one another this season that you will simply try to help each other smile and not try to force anyone up who is not in that place for 2024. Just try to be a friend and let them know you care. Today, I will leave you with the words of Confucius as a reminder to keep going, "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."