| Burns: Working Together to Reach a Goal |
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| Wednesday, November 12, 2008 01:13 PM |
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It seems to me we’re kind of twitchy right now. There are folks ready to dance in the streets over recent events and there are others who reckon “the end” is near. No matter what, as a journalist, I’ll take pictures and write a story, if either happens. Personally, I’d rather dance — but I don’t always get to make the call. No matter what mood you’re in right now, give it some time, it’ll change. As the Good Book reports (I think it was Solomon), “This too shall pass.” It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the best of situations or the worst, it’s a pretty simple guarantee. Looking around, it’s all fairly overwhelming — stock market jitters and gas price fluctuations, nationwide elections and housing market woes — most of it (maybe all of it) we don’t get much of a say. Now, that’s not to say we’re not in control of at least a few things. Here’s one: I believe you can help determine the overall severity of our economic downturn (or lack there of), if you and me and a couple thousand other folks join in together. Last week, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Dennis wrote a column about spending your money locally. I think that’s a pretty darn good idea. Not that most folks have all that much to spend these days, but the little we have, we ought to spend right here. You help your neighbors pay their rent, afford the lights, pump their gas, and feed their kids. While it may sound a bit “down home,” that’s pretty much the way it works. Just like the settlers heading West, sometimes you have to circle the wagons. It doesn’t mean you stop rolling towards a larger, brighter goal, it just means you have to pause and look out for your fellow pioneers. If they make it, you probably will as well. We’re headed into the holiday shopping season, and it’s time to drop a dollar or two. How do you decide where to spend your money? Well, look at who is advertising here in The Observer. Look in the back of your church bulletin. Check out the back of your son or daughter’s sports jersey; who sponsored the team? Who is helping to make the upcoming Holiday Ball a success? Those are all “local vendors” — otherwise, they wouldn’t be reinvesting their money back into our community. When you spend a dollar here, it’s like tossing a pebble in a pond, you make ripples. Each ripple touches a local business and promotes life. You spend a dollar elsewhere, and it’s only worth one dollar. You spend a buck here in Southeast Volusia, and it keeps happening over and over again (until some no-count scoundrel decides he’s headed to St. Louis or some other high faluttin’ city taking your dollar). Anyway, along those lines, you’ve probably noticed a mention or two of “subscribing” to The Observer. Regulations say we’ve got to have a subscription base before we can take legal ads. Governments, banks, law firms and other entities legally have to advertise. Here’s the deal, we need “legals” to survive. We really hope you’re willing and able to help us. Think of it along the lines of pledging to National Public Radio, only a lot more local. You turn on the radio and you can hear NPR whether or not you’ve pledged, but they need those pledges to break even. Well, a subscription to The Observer is giving us your vote of confidence (and legally allowing us to handle legal ads and public notices). While he was alive, the reviews on Andrew Carnegie were mixed. With all the libraries he built toward the end, he kind of tipped the balance. No matter what, he was successful. Here’s one of his quotes that I kind of like: “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” Whether you’re ready to dance in the streets, or you’re on your knees praying, one thing’s for certain, we should all be working toward the same goal: attaining uncommon results. |