Dave Burkland, City Manager for the City of Chico is one of my new hero's. He's a soft-hearted guy with a spine of steel. Just what we need in these wacky economic times.
It's been a tough-row-to-hoe running City government the last few years. Declining revenues that seem to continue a downward spiral, State 'government' (which continues to seem like an oxymoron) raiding our funds and so far very little upturn in the forecast to hang your hat on. Imagine managing this beast is your job...this is the stuff of sleepless nights.
When faced with a nasty situation like this there is very little left to do except cut personnel expense. I know from experience that this is the most difficult business of business. Nobody wants to look an employee in the eye and tell them they are going to make less money at their job next year, or worse, they have no job at all. Employees and colleagues are like family and delivering this type of news truly hurts your heart.
Luckily most of us don't have to face the additional challenge of dealing with labor negotiators (union representatives). Dave Burkland does.
When the true budget shortfall became apparent Dave made the tough decision to fix it with a 5% cut across-the-board and he has had the support of City Council members the entire time.
The process so far probably seems pretty painless to the average Joe Citizen on the outside looking in. Most of the unions have agreed, one hasn't and one is still deciding. But it ain't over 'til its over so we should all be paying attention.
Now don't get me wrong, I love all my City services too, especially Police and Fire. I truly wish there was no limit to the funding available to pay the folks who protect us, the added benefit of course being that would mean that everybody else was doing well, too. Because the simple truth is all that money comes from taxes paid by private businesses who hire people who also pay taxes, who then spend more money that gets taxed again and so on and so forth. You get the idea.
And in case you haven't noticed, private business ain't doing so great. Sure there are some bright spots but the majority continue to limp along, paying less taxes on lower revenue and hiring fewer people to pay more tax on their earnings. Get it?
What isn't being said often enough is that this is a long-term shift in our economy and the sooner organized labor representatives accept that the better off we will all be. There simply isn't enough money anymore and working less (i.e. furloughs) is a short-term bandage on a long-term problem. Let's be honest...when times are tough, working less is never a good idea.
The point of this post isn't to bad-mouth labor or point the finger at anybody embroiled in this mess. It really is meant to give credit to a guy who's doing his damnedest to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
Throughout this challenging, emotional process Dave has maintained his sense of compassion, his dedication to the citizens of Chico and his humility. And he's never taken his eye off the necessary final outcome. He shoulders this significant burden with class. I'm glad he's steering this boat and I think we're lucky to have him.
Nicely done Dave...nicely done indeed.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Thank goodness THAT'S over!
Ah...the sweet respite of November. Gone is the sweltering heat and dusty landscape of late summer. Cool early rains wash away the stagnant air and accumulated dirt. Happy thoughts turn the coming holiday season with its promise of family, friends, food, fun and frivolity. And the best part...NO MORE POLITICAL ADS, MAIL OR PHONE SOLICITATIONS. At least for a few months.
I'm not sharing anything earth-shattering here. Everybody seems to hate election seasons. For the most part I find the entire process has become repulsive and I've actually participated as a candidate in the not-too-distant past. There is no getting around it. You cannot take the politics out of politics.
So why even bother writing about it?
The average Joe (or Jolene) can't change the way politicians or national media conduct themselves in the bi-annual painfests. And if you think about it, all that money being spent on mailers, TV and radio, candidate dinners and stump-speeches is actually doing some good by putting a few folks to work. I'm sure local TV, radio, banquet and billboard companies are glad to have had the election business during this otherwise limp economy. So there is at least one bright point to the whole mess.
I've got to admit that it was a breath of fresh air that our local office-seekers ran respectful, issue driven campaigns. I didn't hear of any last minute hit-pieces or truly negative activities. We should give them all a pat on the back for conducting themselves with civility.
What remains a concern, at least for me, is the seemingly non-stop downward spiral in our overall societal behavior that now carries itself well beyond the election process and permeates most of our lives.
The slow economic recovery causes further frustration which leads to anger which leads to fear which eventually surfaces in really inappropriate ways.
Think back a ways. Remember when we could agree-to-disagree after effectively debating diverse points of view, even about truly important issues like the economy and social services? I do. Those seem like the good ol' days when folks respected differing opinions, even if they didn't entirely buy the argument, and in the end a compromise could usually be found.
I remember when the President of the United States was referred to as "The President" or "President Whoever". Nowadays, it's just "insert last name here" without even the least bit of respect for the office itself (even if you don't particularly like the man). If we can't even muster enough respect for the institution of the presidency to put a Mr. in front of his name, why should we expect the upcoming generations to show us ol' geezers any respect?
I guess it is the loss of respect for each other that's really bothering me. Our society seems to be running downhill in our ability or willingness to show respect for others. Don't believe me? Look up just about any newspaper article or letter to the editor on-line, even the seemingly benign ones, and read the online 'forum' where folks get to post their own thoughts. It's frightening.
What's worse than that? The folks who get all up in arms about a subject they clearly know very little about but go ahead and start a "I Hate So-And-So" Facebook page, all in an effort to stir up more anger and misinformation. Oh PULEEEEZE! Do you really think that kind of crap is helpful?
We all see the network news telecasts, the talking-heads have all morphed into shouting-heads. Everybody is shouting over each other to the point where you have no freakin' idea what ANY of them are saying. For all you can tell, they might even be agreeing!
This isn't a new topic in my posts. It's a sadly recurring theme. Mostly because it truly does worry me. As a business leader, as a mother, as an American. This behavior is flat out wrong and nobody seems to be discussing it. And that's the most worrisome thing of all.
So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to keep talking about it. And I pledge that while I may strongly disagree with the opinions of others, I'll be damned if I won't respect their right to say it and will at least give them a respectful ear. And then, if I must argue my point I will do it respectfully, without insult or flinging hateful missives. I also vow NEVER to post hateful comments or untruths to an on-line forum while hiding behind a cowardly cartoon figure and fake name.
If enough people join my 'Movement of Respect' perhaps we can actually get something positive accomplished.
Hey...a gal's got to have a goal.
I'm not sharing anything earth-shattering here. Everybody seems to hate election seasons. For the most part I find the entire process has become repulsive and I've actually participated as a candidate in the not-too-distant past. There is no getting around it. You cannot take the politics out of politics.
So why even bother writing about it?
The average Joe (or Jolene) can't change the way politicians or national media conduct themselves in the bi-annual painfests. And if you think about it, all that money being spent on mailers, TV and radio, candidate dinners and stump-speeches is actually doing some good by putting a few folks to work. I'm sure local TV, radio, banquet and billboard companies are glad to have had the election business during this otherwise limp economy. So there is at least one bright point to the whole mess.
I've got to admit that it was a breath of fresh air that our local office-seekers ran respectful, issue driven campaigns. I didn't hear of any last minute hit-pieces or truly negative activities. We should give them all a pat on the back for conducting themselves with civility.
What remains a concern, at least for me, is the seemingly non-stop downward spiral in our overall societal behavior that now carries itself well beyond the election process and permeates most of our lives.
The slow economic recovery causes further frustration which leads to anger which leads to fear which eventually surfaces in really inappropriate ways.
Think back a ways. Remember when we could agree-to-disagree after effectively debating diverse points of view, even about truly important issues like the economy and social services? I do. Those seem like the good ol' days when folks respected differing opinions, even if they didn't entirely buy the argument, and in the end a compromise could usually be found.
I remember when the President of the United States was referred to as "The President" or "President Whoever". Nowadays, it's just "insert last name here" without even the least bit of respect for the office itself (even if you don't particularly like the man). If we can't even muster enough respect for the institution of the presidency to put a Mr. in front of his name, why should we expect the upcoming generations to show us ol' geezers any respect?
I guess it is the loss of respect for each other that's really bothering me. Our society seems to be running downhill in our ability or willingness to show respect for others. Don't believe me? Look up just about any newspaper article or letter to the editor on-line, even the seemingly benign ones, and read the online 'forum' where folks get to post their own thoughts. It's frightening.
What's worse than that? The folks who get all up in arms about a subject they clearly know very little about but go ahead and start a "I Hate So-And-So" Facebook page, all in an effort to stir up more anger and misinformation. Oh PULEEEEZE! Do you really think that kind of crap is helpful?
We all see the network news telecasts, the talking-heads have all morphed into shouting-heads. Everybody is shouting over each other to the point where you have no freakin' idea what ANY of them are saying. For all you can tell, they might even be agreeing!
This isn't a new topic in my posts. It's a sadly recurring theme. Mostly because it truly does worry me. As a business leader, as a mother, as an American. This behavior is flat out wrong and nobody seems to be discussing it. And that's the most worrisome thing of all.
So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to keep talking about it. And I pledge that while I may strongly disagree with the opinions of others, I'll be damned if I won't respect their right to say it and will at least give them a respectful ear. And then, if I must argue my point I will do it respectfully, without insult or flinging hateful missives. I also vow NEVER to post hateful comments or untruths to an on-line forum while hiding behind a cowardly cartoon figure and fake name.
If enough people join my 'Movement of Respect' perhaps we can actually get something positive accomplished.
Hey...a gal's got to have a goal.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Welcome to Chico....Now Behave Yourself!
A very long Spring and late rains in the upper Sacramento Valley make it feel as if Summer just began. We've enjoyed very few days of over 100 degree heat, so I have a hard time remembering that we're in mid-August already.
Of course, mid-August around here brings a lot of excitement. The City Council race is heating up, Chico Unified is back in session and we will soon be welcoming all the Chico State students (back) to Chico. This year that will include roughly 1400 first-time freshman.
Enrollment at Chico State is down this year, as it is in the entire CSU system, the result of a State budget that remains, well, ridiculously screwed up. (Sorry...there's just no nice way to say that).
But even with lower enrollments the City will soon be impacted by an influx of young and exuberant students, eager to flex their independence muscles and venture into the land of grown-up living. Our twins are among them and the excitement is tangible.
There are dorm rooms to decorate, bikes to tune-up, closets to clean out. (Imagine if you will the shear volume of clothing twin teenage girls can accumulate over 18 years. It's mind-boggling.) Our girls are lucky enough to be moving into Sutter Hall, the almost-finished, state-of-the-art dorm on campus. I hope some day they'll fully understand how lucky they are to enjoy the opportunity to live on campus, becoming fully absorbed in college life, even though we live right here in town. Right now they are just too excited about starting school to be reflective about that, so we won't hold our breath just yet.
It's this time of year that the community as a whole breathes a big sigh.
Those of us in business can tell you very clearly what the student population does for our local economy. Statistics indicate that student spending averages about $13,000 per student for the academic year. That includes their housing, food, clothing and entertainment. That economic boost represents the sigh of relief we feel that more money will soon be circulating in our economy.
And then there is the other sigh...the one of mild apprehension. Will all these new residents understand their responsibilities to the community. Will they respect our laws, property and traditions? Will they, in essence, behave themselves?
Every year University leadership does a good job of outlining the expectations of living in Chico and I'm guessing that most of the students start out wanting to be good neighbors. And every year the community hopes they stick to that goal.
I hope that the current crop of students remembers a few basic rules. Here's my own list in no particular order:
1. Be respectful to your elders. You attend college at a CSU campus and that means that all of us are helping finance your education, so be nice to the local taxpayers.
2. It is never OK to mistreat our Police Department personnel. Pay attention to the laws and you'll do just fine.
3. Spend more money in local stores than you do on the Internet. It's important to our local economy.
4. St. Patricks Day, Cesear Chavez Day and Halloween are not good reasons for drinking to excess and forgetting rule #2.
5. Urinating in public is never okay. Seriously...NEVER.
6. Be a good Samaritan sometimes. It never hurts and might make you feel good about yourself.
7. When walking downtown in the sidewalk....HURRY UP! You are holding up traffic when you dawdle, so put-a-fire-under-it and get out of the street.
So that's my short list. Feel free to share it will a college student near you.
And now the downside of attending school in your hometown when your parents are somewhat involved in the community...it's much tougher to get away with anything without your parents finding out. Bummer...
Of course, mid-August around here brings a lot of excitement. The City Council race is heating up, Chico Unified is back in session and we will soon be welcoming all the Chico State students (back) to Chico. This year that will include roughly 1400 first-time freshman.
Enrollment at Chico State is down this year, as it is in the entire CSU system, the result of a State budget that remains, well, ridiculously screwed up. (Sorry...there's just no nice way to say that).
But even with lower enrollments the City will soon be impacted by an influx of young and exuberant students, eager to flex their independence muscles and venture into the land of grown-up living. Our twins are among them and the excitement is tangible.
There are dorm rooms to decorate, bikes to tune-up, closets to clean out. (Imagine if you will the shear volume of clothing twin teenage girls can accumulate over 18 years. It's mind-boggling.) Our girls are lucky enough to be moving into Sutter Hall, the almost-finished, state-of-the-art dorm on campus. I hope some day they'll fully understand how lucky they are to enjoy the opportunity to live on campus, becoming fully absorbed in college life, even though we live right here in town. Right now they are just too excited about starting school to be reflective about that, so we won't hold our breath just yet.
It's this time of year that the community as a whole breathes a big sigh.
Those of us in business can tell you very clearly what the student population does for our local economy. Statistics indicate that student spending averages about $13,000 per student for the academic year. That includes their housing, food, clothing and entertainment. That economic boost represents the sigh of relief we feel that more money will soon be circulating in our economy.
And then there is the other sigh...the one of mild apprehension. Will all these new residents understand their responsibilities to the community. Will they respect our laws, property and traditions? Will they, in essence, behave themselves?
Every year University leadership does a good job of outlining the expectations of living in Chico and I'm guessing that most of the students start out wanting to be good neighbors. And every year the community hopes they stick to that goal.
I hope that the current crop of students remembers a few basic rules. Here's my own list in no particular order:
1. Be respectful to your elders. You attend college at a CSU campus and that means that all of us are helping finance your education, so be nice to the local taxpayers.
2. It is never OK to mistreat our Police Department personnel. Pay attention to the laws and you'll do just fine.
3. Spend more money in local stores than you do on the Internet. It's important to our local economy.
4. St. Patricks Day, Cesear Chavez Day and Halloween are not good reasons for drinking to excess and forgetting rule #2.
5. Urinating in public is never okay. Seriously...NEVER.
6. Be a good Samaritan sometimes. It never hurts and might make you feel good about yourself.
7. When walking downtown in the sidewalk....HURRY UP! You are holding up traffic when you dawdle, so put-a-fire-under-it and get out of the street.
So that's my short list. Feel free to share it will a college student near you.
And now the downside of attending school in your hometown when your parents are somewhat involved in the community...it's much tougher to get away with anything without your parents finding out. Bummer...
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What Do You Mean It Was All Fake???
Big news on the web today...MTV's 'reality' show The Hills was apparently faked!?! (Gasp) Really? It was fake? Who would have ever guessed that this wasn't truly a long-running peek-through-the-windows of overindulged twenty-somethings REAL lives? Shocking...
A generation of viewers all over America are broken hearted as the true reality begins to set in. You were duped (i.e. lied to). You invested far to much time watching a soap opera disguised as real life. You invested your time, energy and emotion into a music network's attempt to brainwash you into believing that people really live like that and you should want to, too.
Here is the real story...none of this stuff is honest-and-truly real life. It's all staged to a certain degree to keep you watching.
So why should anyone really care about whether or not young folks think these shows are real?
Honestly, I'm convinced the nonsense they are bombarded with is negatively affecting their outlook on life, creating a sense of entitlement and, in the end, destroying their work-ethic and ability to build long-term healthy relationships.
Now don't get me wrong. My generation watched TV growing up too. The difference was we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Professor couldn't build a radio out of a palm tree and Maryann couldn't really make cream pies with just coconuts. We were also very aware that Steve Austin could not outrun a speeding Amtrak train on foot. It was only entertainment. Silly, fun and fake.
So other than the fact that we spent far too much time in front of the TV, we weren't living under delusions of someday becoming part of Starfleet. (Well, except for those guys that go to conventions dressed up as Klingons).
I'm not so sure about the current generation of young adults though. They are so overexposed to 'reality' TV they may not recognize that most people do not have Sweet 16 parties on cruise ships or spend $12,000.00 on a wedding dress. Certainly there are a few people who do, but this is not mainstream America.
When you add this type of skewed perception of real life to the propensity to live ones own life primarily through Facebook, texting and online forums, you can easily begin to see how civilized society could fall-off-a-cliff if something doesn't change soon.
This skewed sense of reality is already pretty apparent in the up-and-coming workforce. Many (albeit not all) younger employees have a very different work ethic than the previous generation. There is absolutely a 9 to 5 mentality out there. I've heard many of them say straight up that they don't intend to work as hard as their parents did.
(I do see exceptions to this mindset among the Chamber's Young Professionals Organization. This seems to be a group of newer entrants to the workforce who are trying hard to model their careers after the successful role models of our community. Cheers to them.)
Far too many others however, seem to think us ol' geezers work long hours, nights and weekends for no good reason, at the expense of our personal happiness. Nope. We do that because we know you can't stand out, get ahead and build a successful career by doing 'the minimum'. We also know that there is a significant amount of personal happiness that can be derived from a job done well. That's the good message that gets lost in most 'reality' TV offerings.
But let's be hopeful. Maybe this new economy has one saving grace...the younger work force will have to 'get real' about what it takes to become truly successful.
And just maybe, MTV did us all a favor last night by 'fessing up, revealing the reality of 'reality' TV...almost none of it is real at all.
A generation of viewers all over America are broken hearted as the true reality begins to set in. You were duped (i.e. lied to). You invested far to much time watching a soap opera disguised as real life. You invested your time, energy and emotion into a music network's attempt to brainwash you into believing that people really live like that and you should want to, too.
Here is the real story...none of this stuff is honest-and-truly real life. It's all staged to a certain degree to keep you watching.
So why should anyone really care about whether or not young folks think these shows are real?
Honestly, I'm convinced the nonsense they are bombarded with is negatively affecting their outlook on life, creating a sense of entitlement and, in the end, destroying their work-ethic and ability to build long-term healthy relationships.
Now don't get me wrong. My generation watched TV growing up too. The difference was we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Professor couldn't build a radio out of a palm tree and Maryann couldn't really make cream pies with just coconuts. We were also very aware that Steve Austin could not outrun a speeding Amtrak train on foot. It was only entertainment. Silly, fun and fake.
So other than the fact that we spent far too much time in front of the TV, we weren't living under delusions of someday becoming part of Starfleet. (Well, except for those guys that go to conventions dressed up as Klingons).
I'm not so sure about the current generation of young adults though. They are so overexposed to 'reality' TV they may not recognize that most people do not have Sweet 16 parties on cruise ships or spend $12,000.00 on a wedding dress. Certainly there are a few people who do, but this is not mainstream America.
When you add this type of skewed perception of real life to the propensity to live ones own life primarily through Facebook, texting and online forums, you can easily begin to see how civilized society could fall-off-a-cliff if something doesn't change soon.
This skewed sense of reality is already pretty apparent in the up-and-coming workforce. Many (albeit not all) younger employees have a very different work ethic than the previous generation. There is absolutely a 9 to 5 mentality out there. I've heard many of them say straight up that they don't intend to work as hard as their parents did.
(I do see exceptions to this mindset among the Chamber's Young Professionals Organization. This seems to be a group of newer entrants to the workforce who are trying hard to model their careers after the successful role models of our community. Cheers to them.)
Far too many others however, seem to think us ol' geezers work long hours, nights and weekends for no good reason, at the expense of our personal happiness. Nope. We do that because we know you can't stand out, get ahead and build a successful career by doing 'the minimum'. We also know that there is a significant amount of personal happiness that can be derived from a job done well. That's the good message that gets lost in most 'reality' TV offerings.
But let's be hopeful. Maybe this new economy has one saving grace...the younger work force will have to 'get real' about what it takes to become truly successful.
And just maybe, MTV did us all a favor last night by 'fessing up, revealing the reality of 'reality' TV...almost none of it is real at all.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Ramblings of a Mad Woman...
Wow. Where has the time gone? Easter came and went....school is out...Spring has sprung (almost), and a fun summer season is on the way. It will be July 4th before we know it!
Everything crept up on me so fast. Our twin-teenage-units graduated from PV High School last week, in the pouring rain. What a proud moment for all three of us parental-units. Holding both offices of ASB President and Senior Class President, the twins gave remarkably insightful speeches at graduation. They did great and really represented well the tremendously talented Class of 2010.
The whirlwind of grad parties, all-night parties, after-all-night-party-parties, and the all important day-after-the-after-all-night-party-party left us exhausted. Now it seems like a good time to settle in for a relaxing summer before the dorm move-in date rolls by. I wonder what it will be like to come home after work and find my house as clean as I'd left it that morning? Hmmmmmm.
But wait...there WON'T be any relaxing this summer, for this is another election year! Doesn't it seem that election season never really seems to end? It's really quite tiring, but you have to give a nod to all those hardy souls that put their own lives and careers on hold to run for public office. It's a lot of work.
And yet, even as we applaud them for running it's easy to get pretty tired of the endless recorded phone calls, mailboxes full of mailers, TV and radio spots, etc, etc, etc.
And as tired as I get from all of this, I remind each and every one of you that voting is ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU WILL EVER DO! No kidding. It's not just your right, it's your obligation! Do your homework. Talk to your friends, family and associates. Debate the issues and get your facts straight. And after you've done all that, cast your ballot. Just Do It!
The Chamber of Commerce has posted recommended positions on all the Statewide Ballot Measures and we invite you to read our recommendations as you do your homework. But don't look for us to make individual candidate endorsements. Nosiree-Bob! Not gonna do it...wouldn't be prudent.
Seriously. If you didn't already know the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Board of Trustees of the ChicoPAC voted to cease candidate endorsements almost 2 years ago. I'm happy about that. I think it's much better that we stick to the issues and leave the personalities of candidates out of it. Our time is much better spent being 'the voice of business'...advocating on behalf of business with whomever wins. That's what we're good at...and that's what we'll keep doing.
And that is more than enough rambling for today....
Everything crept up on me so fast. Our twin-teenage-units graduated from PV High School last week, in the pouring rain. What a proud moment for all three of us parental-units. Holding both offices of ASB President and Senior Class President, the twins gave remarkably insightful speeches at graduation. They did great and really represented well the tremendously talented Class of 2010.
The whirlwind of grad parties, all-night parties, after-all-night-party-parties, and the all important day-after-the-after-all-night-party-party left us exhausted. Now it seems like a good time to settle in for a relaxing summer before the dorm move-in date rolls by. I wonder what it will be like to come home after work and find my house as clean as I'd left it that morning? Hmmmmmm.
But wait...there WON'T be any relaxing this summer, for this is another election year! Doesn't it seem that election season never really seems to end? It's really quite tiring, but you have to give a nod to all those hardy souls that put their own lives and careers on hold to run for public office. It's a lot of work.
And yet, even as we applaud them for running it's easy to get pretty tired of the endless recorded phone calls, mailboxes full of mailers, TV and radio spots, etc, etc, etc.
And as tired as I get from all of this, I remind each and every one of you that voting is ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU WILL EVER DO! No kidding. It's not just your right, it's your obligation! Do your homework. Talk to your friends, family and associates. Debate the issues and get your facts straight. And after you've done all that, cast your ballot. Just Do It!
The Chamber of Commerce has posted recommended positions on all the Statewide Ballot Measures and we invite you to read our recommendations as you do your homework. But don't look for us to make individual candidate endorsements. Nosiree-Bob! Not gonna do it...wouldn't be prudent.
Seriously. If you didn't already know the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Board of Trustees of the ChicoPAC voted to cease candidate endorsements almost 2 years ago. I'm happy about that. I think it's much better that we stick to the issues and leave the personalities of candidates out of it. Our time is much better spent being 'the voice of business'...advocating on behalf of business with whomever wins. That's what we're good at...and that's what we'll keep doing.
And that is more than enough rambling for today....
Friday, April 16, 2010
Want Something Done...Call A Local Business Owner
The "Welcome To Chico" sign in south Chico on Hwy 99 has looked anything but welcoming lately. It has been gradually wearing down over the last few years and a particularly heavy storm this past Winter left it looking like something out of a low-budget horror flick. (Think Norman Bates and the hotel on the hill....yikes!)
Of course there was the usual flurry of Tell-It-To-The-ER comments..."who's responsible for that ugly thing...it's an embarrassment...SOMEBODY needs to do SOMETHING!" But wait...who is SOMEBODY?
It's interesting that these types of situations always generate a lot of calls to the Chamber of Commerce. But then again we get calls when people want to know where they can buy a bigger frying pan and how to get rid of bedbugs. Honestly...
This is one of those things that everyone wants to claim ownership of when it looks great, and point to others as being responsible when it goes bad. The reality is pretty muddy. As far as I can tell the sign is on private property, but was built by volunteers with private money...a very, very long time ago.
In any case it was immediately clear that it would take money and labor to get it fixed. There was demolition of the old sign to do, reinforcement of the underlying skeleton and reconstruction of the exterior. So who ya gonna call?
Never fear...this is Chico and things get DONE here. The flurry of calls caught everyones attention...the discussion grew...and then suddenly...LOOK, UP IN THE SKY! IT'S A BIRD...IT'S A PLANE...IT'S DINO CORBIN!
Yes, Chico has Superheros. A lot of them. And usually in the front of the pack waving the rally flag is Dino Corbin of Deercreek Broadcasting. Radio is his day job, but community service is his passion. If you know him at all, you know that for sure.
And Dino KNOWS people. A lot of people. People who, like him, love to give back to their community in quiet and unassuming ways. People who will not only fork over their hard earned cash to fund a project, but will slap on a nail bag, fire up their tractors, draw up the design, arrange for the permits and get the doggone job DONE!
People like Gage Chrysler and Steve Seegart of Modern Building Company, Frank Solinsky of Payless Building Supply, Tom Dauterman of Thomas Manufacturing, Danny Andreasen of Cleanrite Buildrite, Alex DuBose of Guy Rents, Keith Kuykendall of First Impression Signs and Roger Hart at 3Core.
And when these folks start rolling, they are a force to behold!
I have not doubt that this sign will be in beautiful shape in no time at all. And when it's finished, these folks won't stand around slapping themselves on the back and shouting from the rooftops "Look what we did...We are AWESOME!"
Nope. They'll probably just shake hands, nod 'nice job' to each other, and go on back to their real jobs. They will have made a tangible difference in the aesthetics of our community and they won't expect a damned thing for it. Because that's the kind of people they are.
Most people will never know how much these folks do for our community because they don't ask for our thanks, but I think we should all be a heck-of-a-lot more appreciative of them, and many others just like them, every single day. And the next time you hear someone bad-mouthing business in this community, kindly remind them of what YOU know that they obviously don't. Business people in Chico make good things happen. The Chico Chamber of Commerce knows that, and we are deeply grateful to all of them.
Just because they don't wear capes, doesn't mean they aren't SUPERHEROS!
Of course there was the usual flurry of Tell-It-To-The-ER comments..."who's responsible for that ugly thing...it's an embarrassment...SOMEBODY needs to do SOMETHING!" But wait...who is SOMEBODY?
It's interesting that these types of situations always generate a lot of calls to the Chamber of Commerce. But then again we get calls when people want to know where they can buy a bigger frying pan and how to get rid of bedbugs. Honestly...
This is one of those things that everyone wants to claim ownership of when it looks great, and point to others as being responsible when it goes bad. The reality is pretty muddy. As far as I can tell the sign is on private property, but was built by volunteers with private money...a very, very long time ago.
In any case it was immediately clear that it would take money and labor to get it fixed. There was demolition of the old sign to do, reinforcement of the underlying skeleton and reconstruction of the exterior. So who ya gonna call?
Never fear...this is Chico and things get DONE here. The flurry of calls caught everyones attention...the discussion grew...and then suddenly...LOOK, UP IN THE SKY! IT'S A BIRD...IT'S A PLANE...IT'S DINO CORBIN!
Yes, Chico has Superheros. A lot of them. And usually in the front of the pack waving the rally flag is Dino Corbin of Deercreek Broadcasting. Radio is his day job, but community service is his passion. If you know him at all, you know that for sure.
And Dino KNOWS people. A lot of people. People who, like him, love to give back to their community in quiet and unassuming ways. People who will not only fork over their hard earned cash to fund a project, but will slap on a nail bag, fire up their tractors, draw up the design, arrange for the permits and get the doggone job DONE!
People like Gage Chrysler and Steve Seegart of Modern Building Company, Frank Solinsky of Payless Building Supply, Tom Dauterman of Thomas Manufacturing, Danny Andreasen of Cleanrite Buildrite, Alex DuBose of Guy Rents, Keith Kuykendall of First Impression Signs and Roger Hart at 3Core.
And when these folks start rolling, they are a force to behold!
I have not doubt that this sign will be in beautiful shape in no time at all. And when it's finished, these folks won't stand around slapping themselves on the back and shouting from the rooftops "Look what we did...We are AWESOME!"
Nope. They'll probably just shake hands, nod 'nice job' to each other, and go on back to their real jobs. They will have made a tangible difference in the aesthetics of our community and they won't expect a damned thing for it. Because that's the kind of people they are.
Most people will never know how much these folks do for our community because they don't ask for our thanks, but I think we should all be a heck-of-a-lot more appreciative of them, and many others just like them, every single day. And the next time you hear someone bad-mouthing business in this community, kindly remind them of what YOU know that they obviously don't. Business people in Chico make good things happen. The Chico Chamber of Commerce knows that, and we are deeply grateful to all of them.
Just because they don't wear capes, doesn't mean they aren't SUPERHEROS!
Friday, April 2, 2010
The Internet...Giving Ill-Informed, Mean People a Voice for Over 20 Years
Wait...let me slip on my asbestos undies before I finish this blog entry. Why? Because I'm pretty sure the title alone will create the sort of nasty, dirt-slinging, name calling free-for-all I'm going to write about.
How often have you visited a news site on the Internet and made the mistake of reading some of the horrendous 'comments' that people post about the story? You know what I'm talking about...the type of truly hideous things that people will write/say only when they are hiding behind a cartoon-faced, fictitious name moniker that gives them the courage to be publicly awful.
I've looked at some of them and they can be so mean they make my skin crawl. I know I shouldn't even bother looking but it's like passing a car wreck...you just get sucked in and are so shocked by what you see that you can't look away.
Yes, I've been on the receiving end of some of those nasty comments. Sometimes they call me stupid, or greedy, or a corporate shill (whatever that's supposed to mean). I generally let it roll-off because whoever is writing it is just reacting to something I did/said that they disagree with. I'm usually just puzzled why they can't disagree with me without being nasty about it.
Several months ago I saw a similarly degrading string of comments related to a coaching change on my twin daughters high school basketball team that, for some reason or another was reported in the local paper. The comments directed at the young women on the team were truly degrading. I honestly believed that nothing would surprise me anymore until I read some of that tripe. What kept going through my mind was "It's HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL for crying-out-loud"! Why would anyone want to flex their insult-hurling muscles about a thing like that?
The more I think about it, it seems that a national state of incivility has taken over, manifested by the ease of spewing anonymous venom to millions of people without consequence...i.e. the Internet. What's so odd is that often it appears people don't seem to know the real issue that they are ranting-on about. They are just 'posting angry' for the sake of seeing their anger take shape in the form of printed words.
So as not to appear a hypocrite, I will admit here and now that I am very pointed in my blog posts, newsletter CEO columns and an occasional letter to the editor. I do try hard however to refrain from name-calling, degrading language or personal attacks. I do my best to talk about issues rather than people. I'm not perfect but I try pretty hard.
The type of unkind behavior I'm referring to doesn't just bother me, it worries me. How on earth did so many Americans become such foul, insensitive, angry humans? Are our lives so horrible that we must resort to spitting angry words into the ether without regard for who it effects? This simply cannot be the end-result of what our forefathers dreamed when they protected free speech, because this type of dialog won't end up being free...it may very well cost us our humanity.
It gets even worse if the discussion starts with a dialog about local, state or national politics. Those are the kinds of posts that will scare the heck out of you, at least they scare me. And I don't buy all that baloney that one side or the other is responsible. The nastiness comes from both sides and anyone who says differently is not being honest.
I wonder some days...how bad will it get before the pendulum starts to swing back toward civility? How many generations of young people will we raise that grow up without any regard for human feelings, social graces or civil debate?
Turning this around won't come from politicians, or the media, the right or the left. Turning this around will come from the folks that still care about how other people feel as well as how they treat one another. When those folks start to stand up and say "this kind of behavior is NOT okay with me!"
So, let me be one of the first to jump on this bandwagon. This type of behavior is not okay with me. Who's with me??
How often have you visited a news site on the Internet and made the mistake of reading some of the horrendous 'comments' that people post about the story? You know what I'm talking about...the type of truly hideous things that people will write/say only when they are hiding behind a cartoon-faced, fictitious name moniker that gives them the courage to be publicly awful.
I've looked at some of them and they can be so mean they make my skin crawl. I know I shouldn't even bother looking but it's like passing a car wreck...you just get sucked in and are so shocked by what you see that you can't look away.
Yes, I've been on the receiving end of some of those nasty comments. Sometimes they call me stupid, or greedy, or a corporate shill (whatever that's supposed to mean). I generally let it roll-off because whoever is writing it is just reacting to something I did/said that they disagree with. I'm usually just puzzled why they can't disagree with me without being nasty about it.
Several months ago I saw a similarly degrading string of comments related to a coaching change on my twin daughters high school basketball team that, for some reason or another was reported in the local paper. The comments directed at the young women on the team were truly degrading. I honestly believed that nothing would surprise me anymore until I read some of that tripe. What kept going through my mind was "It's HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL for crying-out-loud"! Why would anyone want to flex their insult-hurling muscles about a thing like that?
The more I think about it, it seems that a national state of incivility has taken over, manifested by the ease of spewing anonymous venom to millions of people without consequence...i.e. the Internet. What's so odd is that often it appears people don't seem to know the real issue that they are ranting-on about. They are just 'posting angry' for the sake of seeing their anger take shape in the form of printed words.
So as not to appear a hypocrite, I will admit here and now that I am very pointed in my blog posts, newsletter CEO columns and an occasional letter to the editor. I do try hard however to refrain from name-calling, degrading language or personal attacks. I do my best to talk about issues rather than people. I'm not perfect but I try pretty hard.
The type of unkind behavior I'm referring to doesn't just bother me, it worries me. How on earth did so many Americans become such foul, insensitive, angry humans? Are our lives so horrible that we must resort to spitting angry words into the ether without regard for who it effects? This simply cannot be the end-result of what our forefathers dreamed when they protected free speech, because this type of dialog won't end up being free...it may very well cost us our humanity.
It gets even worse if the discussion starts with a dialog about local, state or national politics. Those are the kinds of posts that will scare the heck out of you, at least they scare me. And I don't buy all that baloney that one side or the other is responsible. The nastiness comes from both sides and anyone who says differently is not being honest.
I wonder some days...how bad will it get before the pendulum starts to swing back toward civility? How many generations of young people will we raise that grow up without any regard for human feelings, social graces or civil debate?
Turning this around won't come from politicians, or the media, the right or the left. Turning this around will come from the folks that still care about how other people feel as well as how they treat one another. When those folks start to stand up and say "this kind of behavior is NOT okay with me!"
So, let me be one of the first to jump on this bandwagon. This type of behavior is not okay with me. Who's with me??
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