Rain or Shine
Weekly update #273 4/13/2025 to 4/19/2025
Rain or shine, sometimes this phrase goes a little deeper than we realize. Before that, though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This past week, we had our entrance meeting for our annual audit. While I am sure some cities may not like being audited, I have come to appreciate it. The City of Seymour is required to be audited each year due to the awards we have received for various items like roads and environmental work. Each year, I am always impressed with how well Clerk-Treasurer Darrin Boas and his team does. This year, we are also back to being in-house with the State Board of Accounts instead of working with an outside contractor like we did in 2024. Thank you for the checks and balances, and I look forward to seeing the final findings when they are finalized several months from now.
Have you ever read a book and thought you needed to share it with others? That happened to me recently with Soundtracks by Jon Acuff. By the time I was finished with it, I decided to share it with all those in the mayor’s office and then all the department heads. Now we are working our way through a few chapters at a time and discussing them as we do. To not give too much away I will encourage you to grab a copy if you are ready to change the soundtrack that is playing in your head.
This week, we had our after-action meeting from the recent flooding event. Several departments came together to review the event and discuss what went right and what went wrong. From the point when the river started rising to getting back down to minor flooding stage, several departments had pieces that they took care of and the group reviewed and documented feedback to place in our flood-related files for future reference when the time comes. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Earlier this week, we had some calls related to the Easter Egg Hunt due to the forecast, and it has been a rain or shine event for many years, but some years, it is never a conversation. This got me to thinking about other moments that could be viewed as rain or shine. The 30th Prayer Breakfast held this past Friday is an indoor event so it doesn’t really qualify as rain or shine, but on the 25th Prayer Breakfast we had to deal with COVID restrictions and find a way to continue the tradition. We did find a way to make it happen via video with participation from several local clergy and participants- translation, rain or shine we still had the event that year. As we put eggs out this year for the Easter Egg Hunt, we were chatting about the worst years as far as rain or snow were involved and realized those were the ones we remembered the most. As far as the event this year went, it took several helpers from Nash Icon Radio, Seymour Noon Lions, and Seymour Parks and Recreation over an hour to get ready. The kids set a new record with just over two minutes and six seconds to pick up thousands of eggs. The weather caused stress as we waited for the green light to go, but nothing more than a few drops fell before the four age groups had cleared the area. Today, I will leave you with the words of Robert Schuller, "Creative words generate energy; negative words drain out energy."