Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tough Love

In my daily reading, I come across a lot of rubbish and it is sometimes hard to seperate the wheat from the chaff. I think, however that the paragraphs below are worth passing on. This is from an article in US News and World Reports and is written by Rick Newman. What I think it boils down to is quit complaining and blaiming everyone else for your problems, suck it up and take responsibility for your life: "The economy is changing rapidly, and it's not completely clear why it's gotten so much harder to get ahead. But there are certainly clues. Education has a lot to do with it: There are very limited opportunities these days for people who don't have a college degree or whose training is outdated. Technology is another factor. People whose careers are tied to the digital revolution enjoy the good fortune of working in a burgeoning field, while many others work in shrinking fields being decimated by new technology. Workers able to ride the wave of globalization, at companies that do business around the world, have an edge. Attitude is another factor. Too many American workers rely on somebody else for their livelihood, without the grit that it takes to adapt and recover when something goes wrong. This is the natural byproduct of a long era of prosperity in which living standards rose for nearly everybody, just because the economy was booming. It didn't take extraordinary fortitude to get ahead. Often, all you had to do was show up. Things are different now, and the bar for success is higher. Instead of arguing over the abstract causes of income inequality or hoping for miracles from Washington, national leaders ought to be sending this message to America's workers: Get smarter. Work harder. Go where the opportunity is. Prosperity isn't going to trickle down from the wealthy, or arrive in the form of a government check. The only person looking out for you is you." Tough love, but it makes a lot of sense to my simple mind.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Organic Growth in Fertile, Can it Happen Here?

Below is the story of revival in a small town. This struck me as relevant because it is exactly what I have been working towards for the past three + years. If Stokes County and other small rural communities are to survive and thrive, it is going to be because of a few dedicated people who want make a difference. It will be small pockets of entrepreneural minded individuals that see opportunities and take the inititive Please take a moment and read this column. If you feel a yearning to make a diffence, reach out to friends and neighbors or even me. Let's discuss what we can do to make Stokes County grow and thrive. Down on the Farm - A Little Revival We have shared with you in the past, a great weekly column posted by Eric Bergeson, entitled Down on the Farm. When we read a recent column, A Little Revival, we just had to share it with our readers. About twenty years ago, I reached a fork in the road. It was time to either commit to the small town, join the family business and try to make a go of it, or use my education to find a career in the suburbs. Most of my peers were long gone. To visit friends from college or high school, I had to travel to Grand Forks, Fargo, the Twin Cities or the West Coast. As I looked around the small town, things were moribund. Half the storefronts on Main Street stood empty. The town was dying and dying fast. It looked like tumbleweed time. So, I half-committed. I bought an aging trailer house. My payment was $125 per month. I slept on the floor. Buying a bed would have been too much commitment. That very year, the men at the cafe who spent hours playing cards--farmers, former farmers, businessmen, former businessmen and others of vague employment status had an idea. We need a golf course, they said. Almost none of them golfed. Coordinated by a couple of respected and smart leaders, the golf course movement took off. Within two years, using volunteer labor and donated goods, Fertile had itself a 9-hole gem. Although I did nothing but pick a few grubs myself, I remember the exhilarating sense of community action as the course took shape. Looking back, the golf course was a turning point in the town's history. About the same time the golf course started business, I sent my first email. Soon, I discovered that I could read the New York Times before breakfast on my computer in my trailer. The small-town isolation broke up like ice on a lake in spring. Two of my best friends sickened of life in the suburbs and moved back to take over the family farm. Their first house wasn't much fancier than my trailer. With farming a break-even proposition at best, some former farmers started other businesses. One started an elevator company--the type of elevator that hauls you to the third floor of a hotel, not the type that holds grain. Fertile had no elevators. But that elevator business took off. What's more important, it spawned a handful of young entrepreneurs who saw the possibility of making a good living while living in the small town. Turns out, you didn't have to farm to stay. Today, there are probably a dozen young families in town who make their living off elevators, and others who started in elevators and have moved on to other ventures. What a difference one entrepreneur can make! Did you know that eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota lead the nation in honey production? Honey is another big employer in Fertile. Several started their own honey operations. Although it had become a difficult business, honey helps keep the local economy afloat. Other local men joined companies which build cell towers or pipelines. Because they were willing to travel and had a farmer's instinct for hard work, their bosses soon said, "Are there more like you back home?" With many of the men on the road, the women revamped Main Street. Today on Main, we have an ice cream shop, a flower shop, a health food store, two gift shops, a used clothing store, a donut shop and a furniture store, all owned and run by women. There are no empty storefronts on the main drag. In another community project, a bunch of locals banded together to build a beautiful Veteran's Memorial Plaza right downtown. In the countryside, the phone company plowed in high-speed internet cable up to every house. I laughed when they laid cable up to bachelor Joe Jacobson's house next door. Joe was 92 at the time and not one to use the phone, much less a computer. Well, when Joe passed away his house sold to a young couple (under 50!), one of whom uses the cable to manage software projects for IBM. A few miles down the road lives a young woman who fell in love with a Fertile man (it happens all the time) and moved up from Florida to start a new life amongst the cows. When she tried to quit her job in Florida, her boss said, wait a minute, do you have internet up there? She now manages twenty pizza joints in central Florida from her kitchen table in rural Fertile. These examples just scratch the surface. Eventually, I sold my beloved trailer and built a house. And I bought a bed. It feels a lot better to set roots in a town on the upswing.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

King Chamber is Hopping Into Spring

The King Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the second of what we hope becomes a long line of local shopping events this Friday evening. They are asking everyone to come uptown and Hop Into Spring. You will find a list of vendors and special that they are offering below. I intend to eat dinner and spend a wonderful evening strolling the sidewalks and stores in King with friends and neighbors. I hope to see you there!

King Shopping Center

ABBA’S Family Thrift Store Sales all over the store

Tradewinds Consignment & Jewelry 15% off all new SPRING JEWELRY

South Main Street

King Lawn & Garden Special promotional prices all over the store and 0% interest for 48 months on qualified purchases

Talley’s Flower Shop Open until 8:00 pm -10% off purchases of $50 or more.

Downtown King

Coffee,Tea & Me Buy one large beverage, get a second for half price

Dalton’s Crossing Draw an egg from the basket for an “eggstra” discount of 10%-15% or 20%. Door prizes and live music to celebrate the grand opening

Gentry’s Store 15% off purchases of $30.00 or more

King Chamber of Commerce Receive a free reusable shopping bag. Downtown King
Vendors in the office: Melissa Neal-Scentsy wickless candles, Bunny Powell-jewelry,
King Moravian Preschool

King Public Library (open 4:00-7:00 pm) Free coupon book for the night’s shopping, Friends of the Library Rummage and Book Sale and the Library’s new website.

King Moravian Preschool Coupon for a 10% discount on the registration fee and first month’s tuition. They will be located in the King Chamber of Commerce office

Miss Joyce’s Dance Studio Coupon for one free class the week of April 23-28 (a $6.00-$8.00 value) and enter a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate for Dance Day Camp.

Mitchell’s Nursery & Greenhouse Coupon for $5 off a purchase of $35 in plants at their Spring Open House on Saturday, April 14. Mitchell’s will park their truck in the lot beside Mickey & Co. to sell wrapped Easter flowers including lilies, mums, geraniums and azaleas.

Nothing Ordinary Unique Gifts- 10% off one item.

Stokes Family YMCA-Corn hole competition –located beside Mickey & Co

Terry’s Furniture & Firearms Low prices every day.

Time 2 Play (inflatable attractions) will offer a free soda with each paid admission. They are located behind Mickey & Co.

Weiner Meister two hot dogs, chips and a drink for $5.50

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Local Farmer Opportunity

If you are a farmer in Stokes County or the surrounding area and are looking for a way to expand your market, Lowes Foods will be providing information on how to sell to their company. See information below for more details.

February 9, 2012

Dear Valued North Carolina Farmer:

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Marketing group is hosting Grower Information Sessions with key personnel from the Lowes Foods grocery chain and (MDI) Merchants Distributor being on-hand to provide information direct to North Carolina Growers. The first session is scheduled for February 29th. Growers from counties within close proximity to each session are invited to attend.

The Farmer meetings will be geared towards those farmers/growers that are interested in selling to Lowes Foods and MDI. Topics to be addressed are guidelines that Lowes and MDI require for you, as a farmer, selling to their stores. Lowes Foods Executive Director of Produce and MDI’s Director of Produce will be on hand to address the criteria they require. Examples Include: Liability insurance, Gap Certification, etc. Please do not allow any of these guidelines to keep you from the meeting, as we have designed these meetings to be informative as to these topics. Marketing Horticulture Specialist from our staff will be giving a presentation on how to become Gap Certified and other grower type information. There will be a question and answer session, and possible one-on-one sessions, if time permits. Lunch will be provided by the “Got to be NC” Goodness Grows Program.

Sessions are planned throughout the state covering specific counties at each. Meetings will be held from (9:00am – 3:00pm - Registration beginning at 8:30am) with lunch provided.

• March 28th. Winston Salem Meeting
BB&T Ballpark – Womble Carlyle Room
951 Ballpark Way
Winston Salem, NC 27101 (336) 714-2287
DIRECTIONS TO BB&T BALLPARK
From the West: Merge onto I-40 E. Merge onto I-40 E/US 421 S via exit 188 toward Winston-Salem. Take Broad St. exit. Turn right onto Broad St. and then make a quick left into ballpark entrance.
From the East: Merge onto I-40 W toward US-421 N/Winston-Salem. Merge onto US 421 N. Merge onto I-40W/US-421 N via exit 206 toward Kernersville/Winston-Salem Downtown. Take Peters Creek Parkway exit, Exit 5A. Turn right onto Peters Creek Parkway. Turn right onto Brookstown Ave., then take an immediate right onto Green St.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

10 Questions to ask every day

I found this in my daily reading and thought it was worth sharing. I have always been told that as you start looking back at your life, you never wish you had worked more.

10 Questions That Create Success
Want help focusing on what really matters? Ask yourself these on a daily basis.

Think that success means making lots of money? Think again.
Pictures of dead presidents have never made anybody happy. And how can you be successful if you're not happy? And buying things with that all money isn't much better. A new car, for instance, might tickle your fancy for a day or two–but pride of ownership is temporary.
Real success comes from the quality of your relationships and the emotions that you experience each day. That's where these 10 questions come in.
Ask them at the end of each day and I absolutely guarantee that you'll become more successful. Here they are:
1. Have I made certain that those I love feel loved?
2. Have I done something today that improved the world?
3. Have I conditioned my body to be more strong flexible and resilient?
4. Have I reviewed and honed my plans for the future?
5. Have I acted in private with the same integrity I exhibit in public?
6. Have I avoided unkind words and deeds?
7. Have I accomplished something worthwhile?
8. Have I helped someone less fortunate?
9. Have I collected some wonderful memories?
10. Have I felt grateful for the incredible gift of being alive?
Here's the thing. The questions you ask yourself on a daily basis determine your focus, and your focus determines your results.
These questions force you to focus on what's really important. Take heed of them and rest of your life—especially your work—will quickly fall into place