Freezin
Weekly update #264 2/9/2025 to 2/15/2025
A 2018 study showed that texting while driving triples the odds of a crash. Hearing this statistic led me down a path of statistical discovery, but not where I thought it would go. Before that, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
I sat down this week with The Voice You Know Curt Nichols to record next week's Breakfast Club. We covered a range of topics from the upcoming Seymour Main Street Bourbon Pour to recent work done by Water Pollution Control. One of the topics of note was the recent approval of the contract for Engine 1’s replacement for Seymour Fire Department. With a three-year build time, it won’t be arriving soon, but this was the next step in the process to get to that distant finish line. We also chatted about our new process that tracks incoming calls at some of our city departments to help improve the process for everyone involved. We also talked about continuous improvement via trainings in a few places around the city team. Thank you to both area radio station owners for the chance to share the good news that is Seymour, and if you want to hear more, you can tune into 1390 AM or 99.3 FM this coming Tuesday morning.
On the topic of continuous improvement, I recently finished my Certified Public Management course offered by Ball State University. Over the two years, we studied topics across the board working towards a capstone project used mostly in the last 12 sessions. Using one focal point was great for me as I have many different areas I can turn my attention citywide. I appreciate all the skills I gained and the perspectives from my cohorts and value it enough that I placed a line in the 2025 budget for two members of the team to enroll in the next session. Thank you, Council, for the approval on that line, and thank you to everyone who knowingly or unknowingly helped with my homework during the course.
I would guess most of you already know, but just in case you don't, the Special Olympics or more specifically our area athletes from the Special Olympics have a place in my heart. I could share the story of an invitation to a basketball tournament again, but to save some space, I will encourage you to go find it in one or two of the previous 263 weekly updates if you want to read about it. Today though, I will share about the 2025 Polar Plunge. The Jackson County Seymour Tsunamis had 22 team members this year and raised over $10,000 to help keep Special Olympics programs free for all. I was given the chance to have a front-row seat as one of our athletes went further into the lake than I think she had ever before. I got to see a group of volunteers help others give to a great program and avoid a cold dip or two of their own in the process. Thank you to everyone involved for all your efforts related to the Special Olympics, and if you want to get involved, reach out, and I will connect you with someone from the local team.
So that random texting and driving statistic landed me on a page about volunteer statistics. I will try to include just a few for your consideration below. Individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 are most likely to volunteer. They are twice as likely to donate to an organization as non-volunteers. Those who volunteer regularly have a 27% better chance of gaining full-time employment due to the network connections they are building as they volunteer. Over 90% of human resource directors say that contributing to a non-profit helps employees improve leadership skills. I could go on, but instead, I hope I sparked your own search of the topic and leave you with a quote from Aristotle, "What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good."