Come Up

Weekly Update 11/12/2023 to 11/18/2023 #199

The words from a song in the 1977 musical Annie have been on my mind this week as I visit our friends and business associates in Japan. Before that though, let me share some of what has been going on in Seymour during my absence.

This week, Parks and Recreation wrapped up another playground upgrade. This time it is the Freeman Field Recreation area. If you recall, earlier this year we removed the playground as we did the much needed parking lot expansion for the park. We knew that it would be later in the year before we were able to install the new equipment, but we had hoped it would be a little sooner than now. If you haven’t had a chance to go check it out, please take some time to go see it. 

This week also saw work on a city team project that we have been planning for over a year. Along the Burkart expansion we have been working to install 40 trees between the trail and the roadway. After we consulted our friends in the nursery business, we decided on Autumn Blaze Maples as our choice. Then we had to secure funding which we did while becoming a National Arbor Day Foundation Tree City. While working on becoming a tree city, we realized we needed to add to our annual commitment to funding on tree care and additions. We reached that goal by working with the Jackson County Solid Waste District to create a program available to all Jackson County Municipalities who receive tree city status to be awarded on dollar per capita to their communities. We also received a grant from the Seymour Redevelopment Commission for fifty cents per capita. The commitment from both helped us clear the final hurdle on our way to becoming a tree city and is also how we funded the new trees along Burkart Boulevard. The addition of these trees also puts us over 250 trees planted since the start of 2020. Thank you to the city team for all their work getting this project done while I was away. While we won’t see the true benefits from them for a few years, we have already received some thank you comments from residents.

Well, I guess it is time to close out another weekly update and get back to that opening song that I am guessing you sang in your head as you read it just a few minutes ago. “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” has been on my mind because as I was away and checking in with my family and my team, I realized as the sun was coming out for my day, it was setting on their day and vice versa. A few times as I responded to items I would get something along the lines “isn’t it 4 a.m. where you are?” or “shouldn’t you be asleep?” No, it is not an easy week when we travel to Japan, but it is worth every minute of it. This year, we traveled with other communities in our region and even held a reception for the many Japanese companies who have expanded their businesses to our part of North America. We got to enjoy a delicious lunch with Mr. Toyoda, who was a driving factor in Seymour being the home of the first AISIN manufacturing plant in North America. We learned about steel production from two of our area steel producers and how skills and knowledge learned in Japan are transferred to their operations in Seymour. The song comes in because as I was doing my part to continue the success of our community, my team was doing their part to do the same even if it was 14 hours later. It takes a team, and I have been blessed to join a great team already working for our community in Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation and then being able to add to my team at the city over the last four years. Thank you to everyone who works so hard to keep us moving forward; because of you, we are sure to do as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Learn from it... tomorrow is a new day," even if we are in different time zones.

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