Sunday, October 21, 2007
An Endorsement in Print
One of my favorite jobs at The Lakewood Journal was writing editorials. So it is personally satisfying to receive The News Tribune's endorsement.
Among the relevent sections:
The City of Lakewood is doing fine; that’s good reason to keep its incumbents on the job.
Lakewood is a well-governed city.
In recent years, its municipal government has built sidewalks and a new city hall, successfully launched its own police department and maintained healthy financial reserves. Its City Council has been doing a good job and hardly needs a radical course correction – which could take it in the wrong direction ...
Walter Neary, who was elected to the council in 2003, is a former newspaperman – but don’t hold that against him. He’s also a bright and collegial civic leader who’s done much to preserve Lakewood’s heritage.
Neary’s love of Lakewood is evident in his service as a board member of the Fort Steilacoom Museum and the Lakewood Historical Society, as chairman of the Lakewood Landmarks and Heritage Advisory Board, and as co-author of a history of the city. He’s also been a leader of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.
"Bright and collegial?" Well, that's appreciated. Those of you who knew my dad, who wrote the book on "bright and collegial," would know that he would have really appreciated those words about his son. I appreciate those words as well, and I also appreciate the 'shout-out' to the Lakewood chamber and presumably the leadership program that we are working on.
I am chairing a committee that hopes to start a program that will enroll young people with potential into a yearlong leadership program. If we follow the pattern of hundreds of cities around the country, we will guide 20-30 people through a yearlong series of monthly meetings and mentorships and then 'graduate' them into various forms of community involvement.
Chamber leadership programs have been successful throughout the country, as this slightly dated, but thorough, story explains.
This influx of trained leaders could be a great thing for Lakewood, where we have too few people volunteering for too many needs. If our results are like those of other cities, some of these people will join the boards of nonprofit groups, and even run for positions like school board and City Council (where we could use some more positive leadership!). Our chamber committee hopes that a chamber leadership program will be a gift that will keep on giving and growing.
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Among the relevent sections:
The City of Lakewood is doing fine; that’s good reason to keep its incumbents on the job.
Lakewood is a well-governed city.
In recent years, its municipal government has built sidewalks and a new city hall, successfully launched its own police department and maintained healthy financial reserves. Its City Council has been doing a good job and hardly needs a radical course correction – which could take it in the wrong direction ...
Walter Neary, who was elected to the council in 2003, is a former newspaperman – but don’t hold that against him. He’s also a bright and collegial civic leader who’s done much to preserve Lakewood’s heritage.
Neary’s love of Lakewood is evident in his service as a board member of the Fort Steilacoom Museum and the Lakewood Historical Society, as chairman of the Lakewood Landmarks and Heritage Advisory Board, and as co-author of a history of the city. He’s also been a leader of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.
"Bright and collegial?" Well, that's appreciated. Those of you who knew my dad, who wrote the book on "bright and collegial," would know that he would have really appreciated those words about his son. I appreciate those words as well, and I also appreciate the 'shout-out' to the Lakewood chamber and presumably the leadership program that we are working on.
I am chairing a committee that hopes to start a program that will enroll young people with potential into a yearlong leadership program. If we follow the pattern of hundreds of cities around the country, we will guide 20-30 people through a yearlong series of monthly meetings and mentorships and then 'graduate' them into various forms of community involvement.
Chamber leadership programs have been successful throughout the country, as this slightly dated, but thorough, story explains.
This influx of trained leaders could be a great thing for Lakewood, where we have too few people volunteering for too many needs. If our results are like those of other cities, some of these people will join the boards of nonprofit groups, and even run for positions like school board and City Council (where we could use some more positive leadership!). Our chamber committee hopes that a chamber leadership program will be a gift that will keep on giving and growing.
