Something Bigger
Weekly update #319 3/1/2026 to 3/7/2026
Thousands of people came together to raise over $1,000,000 to help 20,000 Indiana residents over the last few months. Before that though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This past week, our drivers with Seymour Transit went through Passenger Assistance Training with the Rural Transit Assistance Program, or RTAP for short. I had participated in this training last year and couldn’t stay for the whole session this time, but I did take the written test just to see how I did after a year. I missed a few, but I did manage to pass before I had to leave. As the name implies, the training focuses on helping our passengers have a safe and good experience when they ride. Several of our drivers have been with us for years, so it was a good refresher for most, and for our newer drivers, it was a good chance to work on the details of wheelchair securement and more. Thank you, Vickie, for bringing the training to Seymour. We appreciate your expertise.
This week, I had a couple of chances to interact with the future of Seymour at various schools. I was able to visit with students at Seymour Middle School and talk about how new businesses come to town, and that it isn’t the city making all the investment, and it takes private investors to get the ball rolling and across the finish line. We talked about road projects and how long they take to get completed. The conversation even went into ways they could engage with their community and help others as they did. I always remember as I enter Seymour Middle School that it was in a classroom there that I first started thinking about serving our community as mayor. My other school stop this week was to read Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel to Mrs. Howell’s classroom at Jackson Elementary. The students did a great job of listening and answering questions about the book. Thank you, Mrs. Cummings and Mrs. Howell, for the invitations to speak, and thank you to all our teachers for all you do to help shape the future via our young people.
Just a few short weeks ago, I participated with the Seymour Tsunami team at the Borden Polar Plunge supporting Special Olympics Indiana. Yesterday, I plunged for a second time this season as a Super Plunger at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis. After the event, I had the chance to listen to the President and CEO of Special Olympics of Indiana speak. One of the items he mentioned was why anyone plunges, and especially why the Super Plungers raise larger amounts of money and do it twice in one season. Every answer was different as he mentioned different people. Some have family that are Special Olympic athletes. Others are special education teachers and got involved that way. Some are athletes and help support their own programs by plunging. Others, like myself, are there to help others, often people we don’t even know. Whatever the reason, everyone who helped raise over $1,000,000 this year via a Polar Plunge in Indiana was involved in a bigger cause than themselves. I hope each and every one of you has found something bigger than you and is committed to offering your time and talents when you can. This week, I want to leave you with a quote from Norman Vincent Peale, "The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have."