Great perspective. I am likely one of the more public cynics on social media and through my comments and presentations at City Council, PABA, PAAR, Kiwanis, and Coffee with Colleen. I want a vibrant future for PA and sincerely enjoy volunteering with many organizations. My primary concern is that many people don't understand the struggles facing Port Angeles. They don't realize how much we have underperformed in areas such as individual wage growth or overall financial growth. They don't see that school enrollment is down 30% in the last 20 years. They don't realize our heavy dependence on the government will never be the path to prosperity. Many have become immune to the news of another business leaving our community, or the vacant commercial and residential blighted properties. I really don't want to be the "Debbie Downer" of Port Angeles, but I feel if more people saw the data, they would be more inspired to get involved. That involvement could simply be voting, attending a City Council or Elevate PA meeting, or volunteering for so many of our wonderful events and non profits. Please watch my presentation here: https://youtu.be/3H-t9Nlll-w?si=-7yEHa1tXSYyTefK
I love your passion for data and for pushing our communities forward. I don't see it as a "debbie downer" approach, as you don't just complain about the things that are wrong or need to be improved in our community, instead you DO something about it, by digging into data and asking hard questions. "Moral beauty" doesn't exist in just putting on rose colored glasses, but instead by taking actions - and for each of us that looks slightly different. For some it's volunteering, for others it's attending local government meetings and asking questions; not from a place of contempt, but from a place of wanting to help us get to our desired outcomes - or even encouraging others to challenge the status quo. I appreciate your contributions in this regard, and hopefully we can partner on sharing that data with the readers of Clallam County Solutions, in order to further conversations, discussions, and ultimately actions to improve our little corner of the world.
I couldn’t agree more! Great reminder of how critical it is to keep your focus on the good things around us. Often hard to do in practice, but in my opinion it’s essential if you want to make a positive impact on your community.
Great perspective. I am likely one of the more public cynics on social media and through my comments and presentations at City Council, PABA, PAAR, Kiwanis, and Coffee with Colleen. I want a vibrant future for PA and sincerely enjoy volunteering with many organizations. My primary concern is that many people don't understand the struggles facing Port Angeles. They don't realize how much we have underperformed in areas such as individual wage growth or overall financial growth. They don't see that school enrollment is down 30% in the last 20 years. They don't realize our heavy dependence on the government will never be the path to prosperity. Many have become immune to the news of another business leaving our community, or the vacant commercial and residential blighted properties. I really don't want to be the "Debbie Downer" of Port Angeles, but I feel if more people saw the data, they would be more inspired to get involved. That involvement could simply be voting, attending a City Council or Elevate PA meeting, or volunteering for so many of our wonderful events and non profits. Please watch my presentation here: https://youtu.be/3H-t9Nlll-w?si=-7yEHa1tXSYyTefK
I love your passion for data and for pushing our communities forward. I don't see it as a "debbie downer" approach, as you don't just complain about the things that are wrong or need to be improved in our community, instead you DO something about it, by digging into data and asking hard questions. "Moral beauty" doesn't exist in just putting on rose colored glasses, but instead by taking actions - and for each of us that looks slightly different. For some it's volunteering, for others it's attending local government meetings and asking questions; not from a place of contempt, but from a place of wanting to help us get to our desired outcomes - or even encouraging others to challenge the status quo. I appreciate your contributions in this regard, and hopefully we can partner on sharing that data with the readers of Clallam County Solutions, in order to further conversations, discussions, and ultimately actions to improve our little corner of the world.
I couldn’t agree more! Great reminder of how critical it is to keep your focus on the good things around us. Often hard to do in practice, but in my opinion it’s essential if you want to make a positive impact on your community.