Well rested from four days off last week, it is Wednesday morning as I write and the wonderful downtime I enjoyed has nearly worn off.
There is so much work to be done here in Leaderland.
First, I would like to address a column I wrote a couple of weeks ago where I was looking for more visibility from Niles from some of the city leaders at service organizations, the chamber and community events.
And that was all through my eyes and experience alone.
Two city officials opened my eyes to how the written word can be misinterpreted.
I also realized that while I was expressing my reality it was just that mine, and perhaps my column was written too much in a personal vein.
My words caused hurt feelings of very passionate and well-meaning city employees.
Niles Fire Chief Larry Lamb came by to visit and discussed his disappointment in what I wrote. He went on to explain all of the things he and others have been doing to help build better community.
None of what he discussed touched me personally; yet they were important and touched many in Niles.
Although some read it that way, I did not write nor did I intend to imply that city workers were not working hard at their jobs.
They do an amazing job, especially when you consider they are operating with a much smaller staff.
We at Leader Publications have empathy as we also work hard to produce the best products with a smaller staff. It is the way of today’s world.
Via Facebook, there were a few readers who were in agreement with my column.
Not City Councilman Robert Durm, who clearly discussed all of the work the city is doing. His comments made me realize how many small, unglamorous chores a city does for its citizens.
Niles City Administrator Ric Huff was our speaker at Rotary.
He discussed the city’s accomplishments over the past year and went into where we were headed in 2013.
By the end of his talk, I had the topic down for this week’s column.
Am I still frustrated in not being able to successfully have developed a personal relationship with city officials? Yes.
Can that be fixed? Yes.
I just have to try harder, and I will.
And what about Cassopolis and Edwardsburg?
I’ve got a great deal of work to do in this coming year.
Building better community throughout Leaderland is one of my top three priorities this year.
As always, I look to you for help and counsel.