The Mirror
Weekly Update 3/5/2023 to 3/11/2023 #163
Sometimes, we are just looking for the light bulb to flicker before it comes on and stays on to light the way. But first, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
This week saw not one but two meetings with potential new companies looking to expand their operations. Site visits like these are not unusual for us, but two on the same day is kind of rare. Early in the day, we showed off Freeman Field Industrial Park and what it had to offer. During the visit, we had a chance to learn about the company and what its needs are, and after a good visit, we had a chance to thank them for visiting and considering our community as an option. Later that same day, we shared with a second company what Eastside Industrial Park had to offer. After learning what they are looking for, we again thanked them for the visit and consideration. While it will be weeks or months before we learn if we are still in the running for the over 300 jobs they could bring, I always walk away hopeful because we make it this far into the selection process for both foreign and domestic expansions. To everyone involved from the Seymour side this week, I say thank you and keep up the great work.
This week, I had a few more meetings with builders and developers as I head towards my goal of 52 for the year. Each meeting takes its own path as I walk in with a few things I want to share and then I focus on listening and seeing what I can learn about their business and the projects they are most interested in. My hope is, with these meetings, that we are able to connect the right people with the right projects for our community to grow and prosper for many years to come. I know from the chatter that we have already been able to create that we are seeing some follow-up conversations that could lead to good things to come. If you are a builder or developer and reading this and we don’t have a meeting set, please reach out because even though we have a list, I am sure it could be bigger.
Over a year ago, I invited a dozen members of our community to join me in a conversation about long term recovery. Of that dozen most were recovering themselves. During that meeting, an idea came from it to have a different kind of recovery event. Something more formal to celebrate the accomplishment of that daily fight of staying clean. After a year of work in many different areas via a grant, we were able to host Road to Recovery as the findings report is being compiled. We had a chance for almost 200 area residents to gather to rejoice in the small victories and, ultimately, the large victory of getting their lives back on track. Statistics show that over 4400 Jackson County residents are dealing with a substance use disorder. Over 2000 of those are right here in Seymour. Studies also show that 75% of those facing this problem will succeed in reaching long term recovery. It may not be the first or second time they try, but they will reach it someday, and to me this is where that opening line comes back around today. As the light bulb flickers for some, it may not stay on the first try, but it is possible for it to come on and for them to shine like a lighthouse on the rocky shores for others to navigate by. During the event, recognition was given for a range of milestones from less than 30 days to 42 years (as of the time of this update) in recovery. To see a group that is so supportive of each other is a refreshing thing in today’s world. Someone pointed out that it was like a reunion with hugs as people arrived like they hadn’t seen old friends in many years. Remember that someone is watching and cheering for you to succeed because even if you don’t realize it, you are somebody. Somebody who may not be the lighthouse yet, but can at least try. As American author, Edith Wharton said, "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Be the mirror.