Going Ahead
Weekly Update 1/15/2023 to 1/21/2023 #156
It is early in the morning, my body hurts, and I just don’t want to go. Before I share more of a recent conversation with my daughter, let me tell you about my week serving as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
For the last year, I have served as the Treasurer of the Administrative Resources Association (ARA). Seymour was one of the founding members of the ARA in 1973 and has utilized their resources on many quality of life projects over the years. This week, I had a chance to sit down with a member of the ARA team and discuss 2023 and beyond. We had a good chance to catch up and update current and future projects and discuss what we might qualify for from various grant sources. It also gave me a chance to share about one of our programs for another community and learn more about a program that we are exploring for Seymour. Thank you, Tara Hagan, for your time this week. I believe it will be beneficial for many in our community.
On a recent cold Saturday morning, we held the agility testing for the Seymour Police Department's current hiring process. Twenty-eight people took the time to fill out applications. Of those 28 only nine made it to the testing site. After push-ups, vertical jump, and sit-ups, it was down to six. All six made it through the 300 meter and mile and half run to go onto the written test. Good luck to everyone that is still in the process. For those that didn’t make it through this time, keep training and get prepared for the next process.
This past week, I attended the South East Mayors' Roundtable hosted by Accelerate Indiana Municipalities in Madison. During the session, we had a chance to hear from Governor Holcomb’s office and Lieutenant Governor Crouch’s office. They updated us on items relating to the current legislative session and upcoming programs from various Indiana departments. We had a chance to exchange ideas with other cities and towns. The last, but probably the most important thing, was we had a chance to discuss possible impacts that we could face depending on how various legislative proposals move forward during the current session. We were able to take note of which bills to keep a closer eye on and start preparing for the discussions that we may need as the year progresses.
Well, I guess it is time to get back to that early-morning, body-aching teenager from the opening line. My youngest daughter is a part of the Lady Owls Swim team, and they are having a pretty good year. Many are cutting time, and they seem to be pushing each other at just the right moments. When one is having a bad meet, others are having good swims to balance it out and help lift their teammates. Even though practice comes early three days a week and sometimes those days are on the heels of a late night, these young swimmers get up and get moving. I have no doubt their bodies hurt, and sometimes they just don’t want to do it. They, however, still get up and get going to make it happen for their teammates and really for themselves. Somedays, I am amazed at the dedication and determination they put in. I also don’t forget to notice the lessons they can teach me as an adult to get up and get going even when you don’t want to. I found this quote this week from John Goodale printed in the Seymour paper in 1919, “Advancement and progress is a part of old Seymour. You can’t prevent us from going ahead.” I believe Mr. Goodale is correct that “you can’t prevent us from going ahead;” the only person that can stop you is you by not getting up and getting going.