Taking a look at the future of Hillsboro

Another election is over and in the books. It hardly seems as if two years have gone by since you first honored me to serve you as your Mayor. I want to take just a moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart for honoring me with a second term of service. I commit to you that I will continue to work hard for you and for our great city!

There has been a lot that has happened in the last couple years (and I tried to cover that in my last column), but rather than rest on any past accomplishments we have been blessed with, I am more excited to talk about what the future holds for our community. I believe it is very bright. Yes, there will be challenges, but what are challenges anyway? Just opportunities in disguise!

In the coming year we will see our street & water projects get finished. We will see the Hospital Hike/Bike trail and Phase One of our Community Plaza Project for starters. We will also see the completion of Tabor’s new Welcome Center. We will continue to be served by a Community Hospital. Yes a lot of exciting things coming in 2020!

That said, 2020 is not the year we want to be focusing on. Actually we need to be looking ahead 5 to 10 years and beyond. To that end, we are planning on holding a Visioning Summit in early 2020 that will help us do just that. As Will Lambe, in his book Small Towns, Big Ideas, (Chapel Hill: UNC School of Government, N.C., December 2008) says; “Small towns with the most dramatic outcomes tend to be proactive and future-oriented; they embrace change and assume risk.” I believe that these concepts have been the reason for our past success and that we should continue to embrace them for our future success. I will keep you informed as to the progress and outcomes of this visioning process as we move forward.

Respect for the past

I would like to spend a few moments as we celebrate Veterans Day, to thank all those who have served this great nation (and our fair city) in our country’s armed forces. Our freedom is NOT free. We have called on our men and women since the founding of this country to protect and defend our nation and those freedoms that many of us take for granted. To those of you that have served, and especially those that are serving now, thank you and may God bless and keep you and your families safe. We honor you and your service!

Parting thoughts

I don’t know about you, but I am not ready for the Christmas season to start. Unfortunately folks in the radio business have already started playing Christmas music. I guess I’m just old school enough to want to get through Thanksgiving before I put up my Christmas lights. Speaking of Christmas lights, we will be holding our annual Community Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, December 7th at 5:30 PM. This is part of our Down Home Christmas event and I hope to see you there!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, especially our family and friends. Be sure to take time this month to let those around you know that you are thankful for them and how much they mean to you. A thankful spirit is contagious and we will all be blessed by it.

That’s about it for this time. Till next time, stay safe, stay warm and let’s continue to work hard “Growing Hillsboro Together”!

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