Turmoil

Weekly update #294 9/7/2025 to 9/13/2025

In a week of turmoil one thing I read in particular jumped out at me. Feel free to put down this week’s update and go outside or work on a project you have not made time for if you want, though, because you can always come back to this later.

Since I mentioned projects in the intro, we can talk about a few projects going on at the moment. Second Street continues to inch towards the finish line with concrete work and more continuing over the last week. The Reno Brothers-themed mural is closer to complete with all the gang in the frame as they ride away from the train. Several members of the Department of Public Works team continued to prepare for Oktoberfest in the downtown area. All in all, it was a busy week for everyone like it usually is.

This past week though, I was back in Japan for The 55th Annual Joint Meeting of the Japan-Midwest U.S. & Midwest U.S.-Japan Associations. The first three days of the trip were mostly connected to this event. All week long, we had meetings with companies that are currently established in our area. Twice this past week, we participated with partners not just from around the region but around the state as we helped host Friends of Indiana events in Tokyo and Nagoya. During a meeting with Mr. Toyoda on my first trip back in 2022, I realized as he asked about every person in a picture taken in Seymour 20 years ago that we were not just here for economic development, but here for the relationships that have been developed over our decades of shared history. I learned this week that Japan is Indiana’s largest foreign investor with over 320 companies that employ over 65,000 Hoosiers around the state. Indiana represented the majority of the mayors in attendance at the joint meeting even though we are just one of the ten states in the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association. The event did have a few governors and lieutenant governors from both America and Japan. Just a few highlights from the week are the governor of the Gunma Prefecture performing Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” live, which included moonwalking. Traveling halfway around the world to meet Seymour native Jonathan Berent, who attended one of the Friends of Indiana receptions. Speaking with youth from the Japan America Society, who are preparing for an extended trip to the states in 2026. Visiting the World Expo in Osaka and seeing the America exhibit. Seeing our friends from Aisin attend the Nagoya reception sporting our Seymour/Japan flags lapel pins with their handmade Walnut ink pens on display in their shirt pockets. Thank you to everyone from our region and all across Indiana for a good trip, and thank you to all our Japanese friends and investors for their continued support of Seymour. I look forward to seeing you here in Indiana for the 56th meeting.

I started out mentioning a week of turmoil and a piece I read before I encouraged you to go outside or get back on that project you haven’t touched for awhile. The article started out talking about those arguing in the comments of a post and how the different directions it went , some a short jump and others linking back to conspiracies from years past. Ultimately, though, the final thought from the writer was that everyone needed to put down the phone or the computer and head out the door for some fresh air or to work on those long-laid-aside projects they have forgotten. So today, I encourage you to do the same if you haven’t already. I will leave you with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson to ponder as you go, "Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding."