Memories
Weekly Update #253 11/24/2024 to 11/30/2024
While at a Thanksgiving dinner this week, I realized it wasn’t the fine details of how fast I was going at the moment of the memory but who was around that has lasted all these years later. Before I roll down this path a little farther though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This week, during the Common Council meeting, Resolution 31 Council Bill 64 the 2025 Employee Tuition Reimbursement Assistance Program was approved. This will allow full-time employees of the city the chance to take courses of their interest. I won’t dive into all the details, but I can’t thank council enough for the yes votes to help add another benefit for those employees who wish to use it. At the end of 2025, half of the remaining funds in the budget line will be split between the Community Foundation of Jackson County and the Greater Seymour Trust Fund to create a scholarship fund for family members of employees. I believe this portion will be just as big of a benefit as the program itself.
This year, 2024, is our third time to post the community survey for participants to give their rankings of various items around Seymour. The first time we did this was in 2020 and again for adults in 2022. In 2023, we added a version for teens to participate. The format is designed to allow opinion to be made into measurable data and compared with past years after collected. Thanks to the crew up at Rushville for sharing how they had done this back in 2020 and encouraging us to start our own version back then.
The Board of Public Works and Safety also met this week, on Wednesday though since Thursday was Thanksgiving. From sewer adjustments to food truck renewals, most items were regular occurrences. One of the fun items mentioned, though, was a congratulations to Engineer Bernie Hauersperger for winning the Joy to the Workplace contest with his road-themed tree. The other fun item was getting to share that Parks and Recreation’s own Floyd Amburgey has performed his 400th wedding. This milestone would not have been possible without the original suggestion of getting him setup to perform weddings coming back in 2020 from my assistant Gloria Cullison before her retirement. Congratulations, Floyd, and thank you, Gloria, for the suggestion.
As I sat and listened to stories from my youth at Thanksgiving this week, I couldn’t help but think about the pieces that did or didn’t mean as much to the story. The fine details of how fast I was pedaling or the number of crashes involved all held a lesser spot in the memory than those who were there when it happened. As we reminisced, what meant most was the memories with friends and family members. On this short week I will leave you with the words of Ned Rorem, "Nothing is a waste that makes a memory."