By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
It had been a wonderful weekend, and the mayor had been one of several community leaders who spoke at the Love For The City event held on the Limestone County Courthouse steps. The weather was perfect, as was the day. Mayor Ronnie showed me a clip from a WHNT broadcast on leadership that was conducted by Steve Johnson. The program is entitled Perspectives on Leadership, and can still be viewed on WHNT online.
Mayor Ronnie brought in Holly Hollman, who has been busy producing short videos that are targeted toward 4th graders. The series is called, It’s My Job, and so far, Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson, Mayor Ronnie, and Athens City Councilman Frank Travis have been filmed, and more are to come.
The Mayor’s Youth Commission is getting ready to get started, and they are still taking applications. “We have been blessed with a number of applicants and are making selections of team leaders,” said the mayor. He had also been reading from the chapter in Believing Is Seeing entitled, “Investing or Spending?”
From page 155, there was a series of questions that had been put forth that served both to inspire gratitude as well as speak into the lives of others.
Just as I have encouraged you to think back on those who have invested in you, can you look around and see those in whom you might invest?
Who connected with me? With whom can I connect?
Who touched my life in a positive way? Who can I touch in a positive way?
Who challenged and inspired me? Who can I challenge and inspire?
Who planted words of affirmation and encouragement in me? In whom can I plant words of affirmation and encouragement?
Who saw something special in me? In whom can I see something special?
Who believed in me? In whom can I believe? Who helped raise me to a new level? Who can I help to raise to a new level?
Look for that person, and after you’ve done it once, do it again. See how many people’s lives you can touch. Go out of your way. Get out of your comfort zone. They are worth it, just like you were once worth it to someone else. Continue the pattern. Help shape others’ lives the way others shaped yours. Invest in others the way others have invested in you.
The mayor talked about what we are facing in terms of growth, something we talk about often. “We are looking at three hotels, five restaurants, and about ten million dollars in sewers,” he said. He added, “Growth is tough right now.” It wasn’t a complaint, just a statement of fact that there are a bunch of challenges that go with growing a town well.
Mayor Ronnie then added, “All you can do is get up, look in the mirror and say, ‘Let’s go get ‘em.’ Let’s go and make our family, church, and city better.” It was time to pray, and so we did. And then it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
November 14, 2024
