Staying the course
There was a community development meeting July 11 at Lincolnville where information was presented about community endowments.
Instead of chasing the elusive big fish, the presenter told participants to spend more time with grassroots efforts, i.e. local entrepreneurs.
Ironically, I interviewed Darrell Driggers and Clinton Seibel of Hillsboro regarding a new non-profit corporation that will be promoted with the highly successful Hillsboro Development Corporation.
It was no coincidence that those two movers and shakers were singing the same song as the community developer.
Instead of "elephant hunting," Hillsboro is focusing on "economic gardening" which will cultivate local, small grassroots businesses and successfully move them to the city's industrial park.
Staying on one track and seeing it to the end seems to be one of the common threads.
How many times do we get discouraged when things don't go the way we think they should and immediately seek changes?
I agree there are times when change is necessary. I guess the real trick to successfully develop a community is to choose the best leaders, create a reasonable plan of action, and follow it through — to the bitter end.
— SUSAN BERG
