Progress is a team effort

While driving on the Natcher Expressway recently, I found myself complaining about the road construction.

Ugh, how long is it going to take them to finish this road?!? I swear they’ve been working on it forever! Then I caught myself, and I realized that we asked for this. Actually, we fought for this. Community organizations, especially the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, our elected officials and local business owners and educational leaders, got us all into this mess. And I sure am proud to be right in the thick of it.

Progress is tricky because while we all say we want it, few are willing to actually work for it. Taking a look at where Greater Owensboro is right now, wrangling in all the ideas floating around and creating a plan of action from that is a challenge, to say the least. Working to maintain the charm of our small city while striving to be more progressive is a very tough balance to find. And keeping the belief that we’re moving in the right direction while battling all the naysayers is a victory in itself.

So, who are we going to be? Are we going to be the complainers, who throw out a handful of negative comments at the mention of anything new? Or, are we going to be open-minded and look at the big picture of the direction our community is headed? If you picked option two, get your hard hat-thinking cap on and let’s get to work.

The way I see it, if you want the progress, you’ve got to put up with the dust. And the lane closures on I-165.

Because we are Greater Owensboro, and we welcome progress.

By Jaclyn Graves Membership Development and Marketing Manager, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce