Out and about

Mayor Graham Richard spoke at the Downtown Rotary Club to give his preview of the state of our city. Little talk was given about the smoking ban, other than a quick joke that he would sign it. He spoke of our crime rate dropping. (This has nothing to do with fashion police issues, this is at an all time high in Fort Wayne without clothing retailer Marshall Fields). He was able to speak about the great strides made in hometown security, and Rusty York and his accolades for a job well done. Of course the peanuts and popcorn, even a few cracker jacks made a bulk of the questions and comments. Yes, Harrison square, the multi-functional sporting facility that will host a track, a ball diamond, entertainment venue along with retail and other public consumer areas. The mayor gave a shout out to the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana. It was the opportunity that I took to publicly thank the mayor for allowing and helping bridge communication to our organization. I am the only active YLNI member in the downtown Rotary club. I have been a member for ten years of the Rotary Club. The organization is known world wide for the eradication of polio, and know in Fort Wayne for helping to brand the walking path around Headwaters Park, as the Circle of Hope. Also, the avenue of trees (along Clinton Street, were donated by the Downtown Rotary Club.) The organization has over 200 members which are viewed as top community leaders in key positions in their organization. Rotary has adopted Washington Elementary school, as of three years ago. Rotarian's spend time tutoring, reading, and participating in the school life of the students. ISTEP scores have shown recently that the school that ranked its 3rd grade class, the class we started with, at 1,000th in the state, shows now the students rank in the 300's!! Creating the impact or perhaps just a catalyst is what the Rotary Club has achieved.

What the preview of the Mayor's state of our city really is about that Fort Wayne is making some changes. Change can be good. Change definitely is a challenge. However, if the community as a whole does not get out and start doing something different, we may be chasing tumbleweeds with our kids and grand kids.