Getting Started
Weekly update #299 10/12/2025 to 10/18/2025
Sometimes, you have to take a leap and get started so you know how to adjust for the next several versions. Before I open that spreadsheet though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
A little over a week ago, I held my quarterly Pastor Chat where I invite Seymour area clergy in to tell me about what is going on with their congregations and beyond. One comment that has come back up several times was related to food insecurities. The statement was made that our community has many churches along with many food pantries and warm meals 24 of 31 days this month; no one should go to bed hungry. I followed it up asking the question of, “How do we connect and coordinate the services for that to be a reality?” Every year, many area organizations are pulled in different directions as they choose which group to support with a donation of product, money, or time. This has led to conversations with a few area partners this week. While this thought will require many more conversations with many different organizations from all the sectors, thank you to everyone already involved, and I look forward to seeing if this thought can grow like a summer garden and feed the community.
Many years ago, the Workforce Development Committee was formed via the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation. Many things have come out of this group over the years, such as Senior Mock Interviews that have sometimes been a student's first experience at an interview. For others, it is just practice, and for some, it has led to future employment. The Reality Fair at Seymour Middle School is open for all Jackson County schools to bring eighth-grade students and learn about the costs of life. From monthly bills to the costs of children and pets, they do a good job of explaining expenses versus income. This past week, the committee met to discuss the various programs going on now and look to the future. Thank you to everyone on the committee now and in the past because your input has made a difference.
Thank you to everyone in Seymour Transit this past week for your patience. For years now, they have been looking at how to modernize the dispatch process. When some of the software packages have been quoted over $100,000, it is hard to make the leap and leave a system that functions. As I sat at the computer in the dispatch office this week working on a spreadsheet version I overheard a comment from an INDOT official about going paperless. While I don’t think we are in a position to fully convert to paperless, I do believe we can get closer. On Wednesday, we put the first version together allowing dispatchers to see all the buses at the same time on live on multiple screens. Thursday, the office committed to using the new process so we could make adjustments for version two on Friday. Friday, the drivers were given a copy of the new schedule to review for their input. Several of the drivers started using the new version on Friday while they could have chosen the old version. Several drivers gave feedback and contributed to version three that they will see Monday when they head out to pick up passengers. Monday, I would expect feedback from both dispatch and drivers to lead to the next version and beyond. Little tweaks will continue to be available as needed, but if we hadn’t committed to starting, we would have not gotten to where we are now. With the current version, Transit will save about 26,000 sheets of paper over the next year. Today, I will leave you with a quote from Mark Twain about getting started, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one."