Hello! I’d like to start off today by thanking Steve Sauder for providing me the opportunity to be one of the “Something to Think About” guests in his absence.
The greater Lyon County area is a wonderful area in Kansas and the United States in which to live, work and raise a family. Many factors go into that, and I know that previous guests have mentioned a few of those factors. One that I haven’t heard and I’d like to talk about today involves the importance of positive community involvement by members of the community.
You don’t have to be a county or city commissioner, school board member, or one of the other elected board members to be positively involved in the community. You can definitely gather facts on the issues within the community from reliable sources and attend meetings to ensure any decisions made are based on fact, not rumors or random opinions. With careful thought given to what will benefit the entire community, everyone can win!
One of the most important ways of being involved in the community is through volunteering your time. This could mean volunteering through one of many local clubs, churches, community groups, area activities, or even being on a local community board. I know we are all busy, but as you give your time take a look at those around you. Hopefully you see a number of people who are happy to be there, doing what they feel is the right thing to help the community. Will everybody agree on what “the right thing” is? Absolutely not – and that’s one of the neat things about living in the United States of America. We have the right to publicly and respectfully share our views.
That brings me to a learning opportunity for our community. February 25 & 26 and March 4 & 5, K-State Research and Extension in Lyon County is hosting a Board Leadership Series. These 4, 2-hour evening sessions are open to anyone in the community whether you are on a community board now, have been in the past, or hope to in the future. The sessions provide a solid base to help make meetings more effective and efficient and help you be an engaged community member. You don’t have to be on a board to participate! More details on times and costs are at the office – stop in or give us a call.
I’d like to share one current example of how this community can come together, and it is taking place on the Lyon County Fairgrounds right next door to our office. The W.S. and E.C. Jones Foundation, Lyon County, the City of Emporia and Westar have come together recognizing the importance to this community of the central building on the Lyon County Fairgrounds – the Anderson Building. Even though this is a significant up-front investment, the leaders of these organizations recognize the improvements will allow for greater use by all in the area, drawing not only local but also regional events and people to spend money in the community and generate additional tax revenues. And when an anonymous donor challenged Extension to match a $50,000 gift with community dollars to go toward functional enhancements to the building to further its value to the community, this community responded – so much that the donor added another $5,000 that has also been matched! Thank you to everyone who has been and continues to be involved in this and numerous other projects in the community!
I would especially like to thank everyone that has been positively involved in your community, wherever that may be. Lyon County is a great place to live and work, and with positive community involvement we will make it even better for the future!
I’m Brian Rees with K-State Research and Extension in Lyon County and for today, that’s “Something to Think About!”
