How to Become Part of Your Community, Part One

Recently, I was asked a question that was easily answerable, but I was surprised to be asked it. After all, the local news media had run several articles that made the answer to the question very clear.

But of course I answered the question politely, and then added, "There have been several stories in the local news about this issue. It's been in the news for some time, in fact."

I could not resist making that comment. I love keeping up with the news. I'm just plain curious. I grew up in a house that received at least two daily papers because my parents were voracious readers. My best friends today are voracious readers: Reading newspapers and books gives us an endless source of conversational topics. We read electronic links, too, as you can tell from our Facebook pages (I never thought I'd someday be writing that).

I majored in journalism, and worked on two college newspapers, editing both. I taught college journalism for seven years and I spent more than a dozen years in newspaper and radio newsrooms.

But that's not why I read a paper or listen to radio news every day. Like I said, I'm curious. You should be curious, too.

People who care about the community they live in read a daily newspaper. They read it to find out what's going on at city hall, at the courthouse and at the school district. They want to know what elected and appointed officials are doing. They have a right to know this. Open Records and Open Meeting laws give all citizens this right. News reporters ensure those rights are protected and exercised.

This, my friend, is something you need to care about. You need to care about who is spending your tax dollars and how they are spending them. And you need to know whether they are acting in your best interests.

In a world without news, we would not know these things.

When you read a daily newspaper, your are joining a group of other people who are also reading. You are getting the same information they are getting. You might have a different reaction. But if the information is controversial enough, someone will write a letter to the editor to express his or her delight or concern. You can do the same. Maybe someone else will respond. In the newspaper world, we call this "a community's conversation with itself."

Today, Facebook is providing another venue for conversation. This is especially evident now that most of us Baby Boomers have Facebook pages and we use them to communicate, like we used to use e-mail (which we still use, only not so much.)

But Facebook has few controls. Many of us local users are aware of at least one incident during which information was prematurely disseminated on Facebook by someone who did not understand the enormous responsibility that comes with freedom of speech. That incident showed us the downside of social media networking.

With a newspaper or radio newsroom, information is shared only when it has been verified, usually by two sources. It is shared in as objective a manner as possible (of course reporters have personal ideas about how things should work - call them biases, if you like, but good reporters truly make an effort to keep these ideas from showing up in their stories).

If you don't read a daily newspaper, you simply won't know what is happening in your community. You won't know which elected official is not serving you - and which one is. You won't know how your favorite school is doing during basketball season - or how students are faring with standardized tests. You might not know about an important community event that might need your help - last year's Maroon Makeover, for example. You won't know who your community leaders are, or who your elected representative is (I've seen that a lot).

You won't really know your community. So how can you be a part of it?

Try Something New!

We heard a lot of grumbling about the city of Marinette's decision not to have fireworks and a parade on the Fourth of July.

That's understandable. These things are part and parcel of our Independence Day tradition, and they have been part of Marinette's summer event calendar since the day's when Mairnette and Menominee alternated the celebration and called it Homecoming. (For newcomers and anyone who's not at least a Baby Boomer, that was in the late 50s and early 60s.)

The grumbling continued for more than 10 days, right up until the day the city finally unleashed its fireworks, at the tail end of the new, two-day Logging & Heritage Festival. Chamber staffers estimated they received 20-30 calls daily.

Still many people tried the festival, and liked what they saw. We give them kudos for being open to a new idea.

(For the record, the chamber did not make the decision to move festivities from the Fourth of July. The festival is the city's event, not the chamber's. Numerous newspaper and radio stories have made that pretty clear. Still, we do promote all area events. It's part of our mission. But we couldn't possibly run them all!)

It will be interesting to see what happens next. The city has to decide whether it wants to continue a mid-July event, go back the the Fourth of July holiday, or maybe find a sponsor for additional fireworks. There are many possibilities.

In Menominee, dog lovers are disappointed today that the city council rejected a proposal for an enclosed dog park within John Henes Park. Members of our Community Leadership Academy Class of 2012 will be understandably dismayed to learn the profits of their Aug. 18 dog walk in the park (dogs have permission to be in the park on leashes that day) won't got to helping create the park.

We liked Councilman Al Walker's suggestion that the city open the park on a trial basis. It might have worked.

Dog support supporters say they'll try again. We wish them luck.

Try is the operative word. Always.

A Great Opportunity for the Right Person

It might seem a bit strange to be actively recruiting for your own replacement for the job of chamber director.

(I'm retiring in September to fulfill a family obligation and return to what I really love to do: write and teach writing.)

But of course I want to see the best person get the job. And besides, I'm only spreading the word. I won't be playing any other role in the process - that would not be appropriate.

But I've worked hard to follow the mandate I received five years ago to "take the chamber to the next level" and now I want to see someone else take it a higher level.

So our executive committee is seeking someone to take the job. You can read more about it here.

People have asked me what I think it takes to do the job. There are many requirements: The ability to communicate, a love for the community, a whole lot of energy, a vision for the future and mental plan for how to get there, and an understanding and experience in economic and workforce development.

Other pluses are experience in the very unique world of non-profit organizations, an understanding of accounting and budgeting, and an appreciation for the way government functions.

But what it really takes is the ability to get along with people and keep your cool. In this job, you've got to be able to listen to people and give credence to their ideas. Because ideally, you must function as both a team member and a leader. You can't have your own way all the time. Your own ideas have to take a backseat sometimes, and you can't feel bad about that. You have to acknowledge that it doesn't matter whose ideas get the job done, as long as the job gets done.

You have to be a "we" person, not an "I" person. Toot someone else's horn, not your own.

Keeping your cool is equally important. People often vent to the chamber director. Let them. Listen and sympathize. If you can fix the problem, fix it.

Mistakes happen. You make them, staff makes them, members make them. Don't point fingers. Don't get upset. Fix the problem.

At the US Chamber's Institute for Organization Management, instructors will tell you that another priority is to protect your organization. The ability to scope out potential problems and traps is a huge plus - for anyone in leadership.

When I was a department manager at the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, I worked for a very savvy and wise man name Duanne Swift. He once told me that the best thing about chamber work was being able to look back and see where you've made a difference.

Someday, that's exactly what I will do. Meanwhile, it's time for someone else to take the helm. And make a difference.

A Quality Event

We weren't a bit surprised with all the phone calls we received these past few days from people disappointed that the Marinette-Menominee area has no Fourth of July fireworks.

We can appreciate their concern that something is missing from this holiday. Anyone who grew up here remembers how the cities of Marinette and Menominee used to alternate fireworks displays. Back when I was growing up, the Fourth of July festivities were called Homecoming, and they moved back and forth, Menominee one year, Marinette the next.

Oddly enough, when the fireworks were in Marinette - on Stephenson Island - my family went to the West End of Menominee, our mother's family home to watch them. I can recall standing near the Rio Vista Motel with friends and family to see the displays. When Menominee shot them off, we parked somewhere behind the Hotel Menominee to see the show. We sat in traffic for what seemed like hours and then had banana splits when we got home. I still want a banana split after fireworks. Traditions are lovely things; they bring us a sense of comfort and belonging.

We understand that it will feel like something that brings that sense of belonging - and sense of community - is missing this year.

But the truth is: Without fireworks, it will still be the Fourth of July. (As I write this, firecrackers and bottle rockets are being set off to the east and west of me. There is no doubt in my mind which holiday we are celebrating!)

We get the argument that there is a tenuous connection between logging and fireworks. But on the other hand, fireworks have always been part of Menominee's long-running Waterfront Festival and no one seems to complain about that. Quite the opposite!

We would be surprised if fireworks did not return on July 4, 2013. We hope they do, and we've made that suggestion to city officials.

What we ask area residents to do is give the Heritage Logging Festival a chance. From every angle, it looks to be very well organized. From what we have seen - from the schedule to the attractive, four-color marketing materials - this festival bears all the hallmarks of a quality event.

We're going to support it, give it a chance and we hope you will, too.