Celebrate those who bring positive change to the community

Star News

Editorials

Change happens because people step forward and make it happen.

A group of people stood on a sun-blasted piece of sidewalk in downtown Medford Friday afternoon. Some were older, some were younger. Some were there because it was their job. All were there because it is their passion to see communities succeed.

The stated reason for them coming together was because a state official had driven all the way up from Madison to officially announce the city has received a $50,000 Vibrant Spaces grant to help with turning a little- used parking lot into a downtown park with pavilion and splash pad. Work is slated to begin later this summer on that project.

While here, the state official also made the public announcement that Anne and Dale Baumann were receiving a $250,0000 Community Development Investment Grant to help with their conversion of the former Medford Co-op station downtown into the new home of Marilyn’s, an upscale bar and restaurant on the level of what you would find in communities many times the size of Medford.

After leaving Medford, the official traveled across the county to Gilman where he made the announcement that the Gilman Development Foundation has received a $21,876 Vibrant Spaces grant to build an outdoor patio and seating area for the gift shop that the group opened last fall.

Folks at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state agency that deals with business development, don’t like leaving things to chance. Prior to Friday’s events they sent out a sample press release and a formal rundown of the event leaving spaces for local dignitaries to make remarks about how great the WEDC programs are.

In what has become the defining style of people in Taylor County, they ignored the prepared script suited more for providing television sound bites and instead had a frank discussion about what it takes in terms of commitment, investment, perseverance and luck to bring new growth to a community.

Medford city coordinator used the comparison of dominos. All it takes is one to set off a chain reaction and bring change to the community.

As comparisons go, the domino one is a good one, as long as you remember that for every fancy display there were long hours of planning, preparation and occasionally some false starts. It is that hard work behind the scenes that makes any success sweeter.

The true celebration wasn’t in a state official coming up to stage a photo op and to spout off some canned comments about the important role small business development has in downtowns or how community amenities are essential in attracting and retaining the next generation of workers and business leaders.

The true celebration was that elected officials and community leaders from both the private and public sector are able to share ideas and look to a common purpose. The celebration is that there is an entire generation of emerging community leaders willing to invest in the community’s future. A generation not looking to some remembered past heyday, but with a vision of what could be and taking the steps to make that vision a reality.

The region’s future is a bright one, thanks to the work of these individuals and others.