Wall of Wonder
– By #MillerSD
On Hand Development Corporation is gearing up for our upcoming Strategic Planning Session and we are looking for ideas to make our community a better place to live, work and play. We start the night off with what I like to call the “Wall of Wonder!” The Wall of Wonder is a visual list of all of the wonderful things that came out of our community from the past year.
Some of the great things that came out of the wall of wonder last year were; sales tax was up, the famous Steers on Main Street were completed, Pipestone Farms completed, biggest wedding season for the Community Center, sold last lot in industrial park for business expansion, lots of new faces to our board and community, bathhouse at Crystal Park was completed, our community was more visible to other communities, Molli B Concert was a huge success, and lots of great things to do year-round.
After we list all of the wonderful things, we then turn to the challenges. What challenges did our community face this past year? How might we as an organization work with the entire community to face some of these challenges?
In 2021, some of the challenges On Hand identified was; lack of land for industrial park, housing, employees needed, negative mindsets, daycare/afterschool challenges, people unwilling to change/grow, fear of competition, lack of places to stay.
As a community, On Hand feels like we are on the right path to combat our challenges. Challenges don’t get “fixed” overnight. Especially the big ones like negative mindsets, people unwilling to change/grow and fear of competition. These shifts in attitudes and mindsets take a lot of time for everyone. Continued education, storytelling, and leadership will help. On Hand will continue to do our part to educate our community on the importance of positive mindsets, the willingness to change/grow and education that competition in business is a good thing and not a bad thing.
The other challenges like housing, infrastructure, lack of employees, daycare, and places to stay are something we work on daily here at On Hand. No quick fixes for these issues. These issues take a lot of time, strategy and energy into our daily work. These issues also take collaboration with other groups, other communities, and other resources within our state.
My big framing question for all of you readers in Hand County, “What items can we add to our Wall of Wonder for 2022? What should we be celebrating and what could our community improve on for the years to come?” And if you come into my office, you will have the opportunity to add your idea to our Wall of Wonder so please stop in.
On Hand gets our direction and ideas from YOU! We listen to our entire community and make a game plan from there. You don’t have to go to a meeting or be on a board to make your ideas heard… you just have to tell us! Tell an On Hand Board member or myself what you would add to our Wall of Wonder for 2023 to help Hand County thrive for future generations.
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