A few weeks ago at the Think Idea Studio ribbon cutting, Mat
Faulkner, creator and owner of Think, thanked a very long list of people for
helping with the Robbins Sanford renovation. Not only did he thank his wife,
family and colleagues as expected, but he also thanked the builders,
electricians, painters, Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, Searcy Regional
Economic Development Corporation, Main Street Searcy, city of Searcy, and some
the crowd never would have known had been involved in the project unless Mat
mentioned them.
It took a village to finish that project. But the results
were phenomenal. I believe the same is required of the citizens of Searcy. It
will take all of us to recognize the uniqueness of Searcy and make strides to build
and improve upon what we already have. The results of that? Economic
development. Jobs. A feeling of pride in our community.
I love what Mat said:
“We have to move forward as a community. A group of people who are willing to improve our quality of life not only for ourselves or our own family, but for each other. Sometimes that means we make sacrifices for someone other than ourselves so they can benefit. Because at the end of day, a healthy growing community makes it happen together….
"Do you remember the movie ‘A Field of Dreams?’ The famous line "If you build it, they will come." Well other communities are building it, and people and business are coming...in droves. What we need to realize, is we are working hard to build it in Searcy, too…. Even with all the great improvements, we still have more to accomplish to compete with our neighbor communities. So we can't sit back while others make progress, we have to keep making progress too. Why is it important for us to keep making progress? Because our local businesses need people to keep moving to Searcy. Searcy needs to accommodate as many needs as possible so residents don't have to go elsewhere to shop and eat and play and work….
"I will also say that Searcy lacks funding for economic development. Funding that these other cities have that we are compared to and many claim we are falling short of. It isn't magic. They are growing because they have invested in themselves.
So where do we go from here? What are the take-aways?
1. We are making great strides but we aren't finished yet.
2. We need to take cues from other communities who are growing, what do they offer and how are they getting it done.
3. We need to make decisions that help each other and not just ourselves.
4. We have to be "doers" and not "talkers".
5. Rumors and assumptions can destroy progress, so pursue knowledge and facts.”
Let us be the village, much like the Think village, to come together to recognize the common goal which is an even better community than what we have now. Let us be the village to brainstorm, create, build and “be doers.” It’s time to get to work, village.
Written by Hannah Hackworth, Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce Communications and Events Coordinator.