Everyone is so critical
Weekly update 10/17/2021 to 10/23/2021 #91
“Everyone is so critical; you must hate your job.” This was a statement made to me while I was checking out at a local restaurant recently. Before I share my thoughts on this though, how about some of my recent week.
During a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting, I had a chance to update board members about the goings-on here in Seymour. I had a chance to give attendees a new piece of material my office has been working on to share the good news as well. Quality of life, emotional attachment/ community pride, accomplishments, and direction are all headers on the new material we debuted at this presentation. Even though it was a brief presentation, I did get a chance to explain how the four connect and dive slightly deeper into an item or two along the way. If I have sparked your interest at all, and you are a member of an organization or group that might want to hear more, please reach out so we can share more with you and your group.
What time is it in Japan? That was a recent problem I had to decode as I sat down for an interview with the Japan Times. Much like a recent interview with National Geographic, I am never sure if anything I have said will make it into print, but I still enjoy the chance to tell the world about Seymour, Indiana. This interview was focused around industry in our area and for that reason I invited Jackson County Industrial Development Director Jim Plump to join me. When it was all said and done, I feel like we did a good job of not only encouraging continued and new investment, but we also shared why our area is a great place to live and work when you have the world to choose from.
Sometimes a bad situation can lead to the next step in a better direction. In 2020, Travel Centers of America had a fire here in Seymour. They took the negative and stepped forward to use the reconstruction of this facility as a model for around the country. They have set the stage to invest more than $100 million in other locations. They made this announcement during the recent ribbon cutting and shared what the future looks like for the company. For more information, see Zach Spicer’s recent story in The Tribune. Thank you to Travel Centers of America for your investment here in Seymour and for allowing us once again to be on the front end of positive improvements both near and far.
Back to that short conversation from before. Being in a hurry, I didn’t give my usual answer to his statement. My normal comment would be that nine days out of 10, I love my role as mayor. That 10th day I still like what I do, but not quite as much as I do on the other nine. I don’t say this lightheartedly. I really do enjoy serving our community. I enjoy that we have so many positives to share with the world. I also realize that many people don’t notice how much we have going for us, but I try every chance I get to share the good news that is Seymour. This year, I proposed we create the role of Public Information Specialist, so that someone was focused daily on telling our community’s story. Recently, I noticed the job she is doing must be working to some extent as community members are starting to speak up when someone is being critical and trying to help people hear what they have learned. Yes, people are critical, and yes, sometimes it is frustrating, but we still need to celebrate the victories big and small, and we need to face each day with a positive attitude. I believe Frank Clark might have said it best when he said “Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.” Let’s help each other grow instead of destroying each other’s roots for our own enjoyment.