LOOK TO THE HORIZON FOR LEADERSHIP AND HOPE
“I came, I saw, I learned and it was good!” These are comments recently made by a person who was in town, but had not been here for over 20. They could not believe what they saw and heard from people. This was not the town they left. The town looks different, better and they were not talking about the buildings! The community feels different! People are acting like they are more of a team and better neighbors than they ever thought was possible in their viewpoint.
If you step back from your everyday existence and take a good look at things around it is clear as to why this comment was made. Things really are different. Things are better than they used to be. However, if your head has been in the sand to long you may not realize this is true.
Recently some good questions were presented to a regional news outlet. The comments were never published or reported, but they were said just the same. “Why does a town the size of Wagner have so many gas stations? How can a town this size have two grocery stores and three national chain stores existing so close together. How is it possible there are two health care hospitals, a dentist, a pharmacy, several landscapers, one of the best schools in the entire state and so much more? Why is the daily traffic so great? Just try to cross the street! Just look at all of the license plates that cross through town. They are from everywhere you can imagine. What is it about Wagner and why Wagner? What makes Wagner so different from other South Dakota communities when so many rural towns are struggling to just stay relevant and existent? While the regional media likes to focus on the negative things that occur more than the positive, the questions still remains: Why Wagner? What makes it so different from everywhere else?
Although there are many reasons for the communities success, one thing stands out as a major reason. Diversity plays a major role in this communities success! Most people understand and appreciate this fact. Appreciating diversity and understanding the importance of working together is what builds a better community. A community that will come together as one is a major goal of the Wagner Area Horizons. Horizons has been at the center of several cooperative ideas throughout the past several years and it continues to focus on building a better community, even if it takes building one relationship at a time to make it happen. The Wagner Area Horizons has interested in building partnerships with those who understand the importance and value of diversity. Working towards inclusiveness, understanding, sharing and creativity is key to long term success for everyone, regardless of your background. The organization is always looking for community supporting ideas that involve inclusion and cooperation by all of those who want to see a better tomorrow. An example of this is the partnerships that were created with area organizations and businesses to bring more diverse activities and entertainment to the Festival In The Park over the Labor Day weekend. Diverse programing brings a more diverse audience. Different ages, different tastes in entertainment, different interests and different cultures backgrounds all help make up the community and Horizons is offering to help bring everyone together, in one place to help us all feel a little closer together. Even if it only for a short time. As the title infers, “look to the horizon for leadership and hope”. This does not mean gaze off into the sunset, but rather seek a new dawn for all of us. What we mean is: look to Wagner Area Horizons to continue to work to help make hope into a daily reality for everyone in our community.