Thursday, November 18, 2010

Are we going left or right?

In a perfect world everyone is on board with the Leader's vision. Everyone get's behind it and doesn't question where the Leader is going. Everyone is satisfied and encouraged with the direction. But, we don't live in a perfect world.

You can't go in two directions at the same time, and it's inevitable that someone is going to desire to go on "the path not taken". In the past, Hornepayne had to decide if they were going to abandon the hunting/fishing tourist path and walk on a new path towards the nuclear industry. It has been presented recently that we can have both, but really who is going to be drawn to the nuclear town for Hunting and Fishing?

It seemed to me at the Candidates night last month that there was much support (from the town's people) for the nuclear idea. I don't know enough about this to be for or against it. What will Hornepayne gain by going in this direction, in comparison to what will we loose by abandoning the path we are currently on?

I can't see our Fishing Outfitters excited about the nuclear idea. This is the sad part of changing directions. These people believed in the past vision and got behind it. They put their money and talents behind it and built upon it. They've invested in it, and now could loose much. There is much to consider when changing directions. Are we going to gain more than we loose?

Jody and I went to the business financing meeting that was held at the Legion this past week. How can anyone start a business at this time? There are some obvious "holes" in our town, (like a hotel), but all the needs will not be known until the vision for our future is established. What are we building towards? What are we building on? I need to know these things.

Not everyone is going to like change, and not everyone is going to like staying the same. Hopefully our leaders can be strong in their vision and remain so during transition and in the face of opposition, because it will come.

In a perfect world change is easy, but we're definitely not in a perfect world!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Responsibilities and Expectations.

What should we expect from our leaders? What are their responsibilities? Can we expect them to do more than what they are responsible for?

Town Council could be a full time job, but without the full time pay. All our members, with the exception of Morley, have a full time job. They also have families, hobbies, etc. In short, they have a life besides Town Business. I understand they are each paid three hundred bucks a month, but can we call that a salary? Should we expect more than what they are paid for? Our leaders are practically volunteers; we have to be careful not to expect more from them than we do from other volunteers.

I realized the different attitudes towards the leaders while I was campaigning. Some view them as superior to the rest; which is probably why there is so much disappointment when they mess up. And others are at the other end of the spectrum: they think the elected leaders owe them something; perhaps they see it as the price for their vote. These people seem to have this attitude that the elected leaders are their personal servants, and they make life hell for the leader that does not do things their way. Leaders have to do what they think is best for the whole, not for the one! What they think may not be what you think, and what is best for the whole might not be what is best for the one. To think of the whole community and not just a small group is definitely one of their responsibilities.

Unrealistic expectations will cause disappointment within the community. And on the other hand they must be accountable for fulfilling the responsibilities of the position. We need to make ourselves aware of what their responsibilities are, and what they are not. We need to keep them accountable to what their position is, but we can't expect them to do it all. Their job is the leadership job; all the other jobs belong to the rest of us.

If you see slack, determine if it`s really their responsibility or not. If it`s not, then maybe it`s your responsibility! Remember, it`s going to take all of us to rebuild this town, and yes that includes YOU.