Behind The Scenes
– By #MillerSD
I traveled to Pierre this last week to put in sometime relationship building and education for future projects. I visited with a Representative who updated a group of economic development professionals about what is going on in Pierre and he even gave us a look into “behind the scenes” into a few bills.
My time in Pierre really got me thinking about all of the great work that On Hand puts in behind the scenes. I appreciate the insight from the Representative who talked about the things that go into their work that no one ever sees. All of the conversations, emails, phone calls, and relationship building.
No one sees the time On Hand Development puts into our community. No one sees the time we put behind the scenes of projects and business development and retention. No one sees the research for loans and grants. Something that no one sees is building all of the relationships. Our work here is a lot about building relationships not only in Hand County but in our state. We are constantly visiting with resources about how to get funding for projects, loans, and new ideas. We are constantly visiting with State leaders about legislation that will help our rural community. We are working with our Senators and Representatives in Washington DC. No one hears the conversations with leaders about how we can be better here. No one hears the conversations about people who want to start businesses here. No one sees the business owner who needs a loan for expansion.
So, what does everyone see? They see the finished product- the pictures with the Representatives and Senators, the bulls on Main Street, Art Murals, flowers on Main Street. They see a new business come to town. They see people getting involved in our community. They see new organizations doing new things. They see new parks. They see people fixing and painting their homes. They see people selling their homes. They see businesses expanding. They see new signs and awnings. They see businesses selling to someone new. They see all of the show but not the behind scenes … On Hand Development.
Our work here revolves around the behind scenes stuff and that’s how we want it. We need people to understand that just because you can’t see us working on certain projects, doesn’t mean we aren’t there working. Economic development is one of the most effective things we can do for our community and yet it is often the least understood. That’s because we can't always say what we're doing when we're doing it. We need people to understand that it is vital for our behind-the-scenes information to stay there. We need people to trust us that it will stay behind the scenes. We aren’t actors and we don’t have to follow the same rules. The audience doesn’t need to see our work. The show will be better if they don’t!
If you want to get involved in the behind-the-scenes work, let us know because we can always use more volunteers to make things happen behind the scenes.
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