THANK YOU AGAIN!

Last week, I wrote to thank the many volunteers who support our community and give it life. I would like to follow that up by sending a huge thank you to the businesses that are such an important part of our community.

There is no doubt that this has been a tough year in many ways for our business neighbors. We have lost a few but, through it all, they have hung in there and continued to provide services and materials and to support the community and its needs.

We are a small community. Because of that, our business owners are friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. It is critically important that we not take them for granted and that we understand that every dollar spent in the community stays in the community and makes us stronger. When you use a local business, please thank them for being here in Stevensville.

Serve and shop locally…it is the best thing we can do to keep our community strong.

Mel Walters

President, Stevensville Main Street Association

THANK YOU!

As 2009 fades behind us and 2010 looms ahead, I wish to thank the many Stevensville community residents who volunteered and donated time and resources to our numerous non-profit organizations over the past year. We have been through some difficult times, however, through it all our citizens have stepped forward and shown that we will survive and that we can accomplish almost anything if we do it together.

Knowing that over 50 committed volunteers donated several thousand hours to the Stevensville Main Street Association (First Fridays, Western Heritage Days, HoneyFest, and other activities), I can only imagine how many hours have been donated across the community. The commitment to our town is beyond extraordinary and is a strong indication of why we live here and appreciate our community as we do.

As 2010 unfolds, I ask that we all continue and that those not participating in our community life make the decision to join us in making Stevensville greater than it already is. Serve and shop locally…it is the best thing we can do to keep our community strong.

Mel Walters

President, Stevensville Main Street Association

Wow!  What a weekend and what a week leading up to Saturday Night.   The "Splendor at the Bass" was fabulous and worth all the effort put into it.   I knew it was going to be a "wow" factor as I walked up the steps and the twinkling white lights adorned the walkway, cut Christmas Trees, windows, pillars and balcony.   I can only image the Bass Mansion, in it's hayday, similarly dressed in all the holiday glitter.  Horse-drawn carriages bringing guests dressed in beautiful holiday gowns, music being heard outside and anticiaption growing as guests stepped into the entry way and beyond.   The Main Street event was much the same - except without the horse-drawn carriages.   Guests were dressed in holiday attire with anticipation of a fun-filled evening and splendor.  

When entering, you were greeted by the warm feel of a fire burning in the fireplace.  Ok, so it  wasn't a real fire but certainly felt like it.  It was apparent that a lot of care and thought went into the decorating - especially the mantle downstairs and the exquisite Christmas Tree upstairs.  Every room felt like holiday splendor.  Soft notes of the harpist  drifted through the air  as I gazed around watching guests go from room to room , both upstairs and down with broad smiles accross their face, a feeling of satisfaction filled my being.   We did it!  I was shouting inside.   Tables in all the rooms were adorned with white linen table clothes ready for our dinner guests.  Ginny, once again, provided a wonderful meal, and the service by the Key Club was excellent.  It was a night to remember and a fabulous start to the holiday season. 

That's the reward for volunteering for Stevensville Main Street Association.  The satisfaction and enjoyment to know that not only are you making a difference in our small town, but knowing you are helping to bring pleasure to so many.   And Saturday Night was another example  of success for the Main Street Association.    Thanks so all who worked so hard on making it happen.  

Stevensville is no different from so many small communities that have felt the econimic downturn of the recent couple of years.   I read a blog recently that summed it up well. The Author, Colin Beaven, puts a good perspective on why government should invest in our local community, local farming and local business which will in turn strengthen our community:

From Colin Beaven's Blog, No Impact Man:   Economic policy in the modern world is generally about strengthening the bonds between corporations and individuals, rather than the other, potentially more meaningful, relationships.The problem is, that when the economic tide goes out, the corporations shrink and--by a variety of mechanisms including layoffs and plunging stock prices--so do the benefits our relationships with them offer. Because the relationship between the corporation and the individual is entirely fiduciary, loyalty and longstanding relationships don't really factor.  A decision at far-away head office suddenly decimates an entire community.

Meanwhile, because we have invested so much in the relationships with  corporations, the other relationships are weakened, which means that they can't provide sustenance when the corporate bond breaks. Why would neighbors help neighbors when they barely even know each other?

So what if, instead of investing government money only in corporations to bolster that bond, President Obama also invested in strengthening local community and familial relationships? Suppose he invested in local farming and local business and general strengthening of bonds between people at the proximate level?

If he did that, when the crises came, and the corporations shrunk, wouldn't that mean that we might have the relationship with family, friends and local business that allowed us to rely on each other? Wouldn't that mean, too, that even if the boom money went away, we would still have the enduring satisfaction and support of a strong community?

And if we had those strong relationships, isn't there a chance that we wouldn't require so many planetary resources in form of "stuff" to have a good quality of life? In other words, if we could play more and rely more with and on each other, wouldn't we need fewer planetary resources and things to feel satisfied with our lives?

 Something to ponder.   Have a great Thanksgiving. 

Yesterday, Joan and I met for lunch at our Mexican Restaurant, Fiesta en Jaliscos.  As we we were walking something caught our eye and there was a beautiful multi-colored hot air balloon framed against St. Mary's.  What a beautiful site.   I asked Joan if she had her camera and she did - but finding it in her purse was another story!   But,  she did and take a look at the pictures below.  It was a beautiful site.     I love our town - you never know what you are going to see.

Enjoy!