"As a man thinketh, so is he." Proverbs eloquently lays out the power of our thought life and the idea that what we think, we become.
Athletes are taught the power of visualization. For example, a basketball player standing on the free throw line is taught to visualize a successful free throw before launching a ball toward the goal. The theory is that by visualizing success, success occurs.
This is what we must realize as a community.
Huntington, for years, has been plagued with thinking too small. We are a community with all of the necessary staples for a quality of life: low cost of living, beautiful communities, recreational and cultural opportunities and multiple others.
With all that we have to offer, why do we so often view our community as dying? Maybe because that is what we visualize.
This is a critical time for this great city of ours. Today, all entities have one goal in common: success of our region. This success cannot be left to the organizations, businesses and political leaders. Success must derive from the citizens. The citizens of this great region must realize that we are a great community with limitless potential. We are so much more than our crime statistics and potholes.
Granted, these are issues that must be addressed, but they are not exhaustive of who we are as a community. If you have a desire to see Huntington move forward, become engaged in the process. One way to start will be to attend tonight's presentation, "Realizing Huntington's potential: How do we get there?" by community development expert Vaughn Grisham at the Drinko Library on Marshall University's campus at 6:30. The success of our community will happen only if it is driven by citizens.
The Create Huntington group has taken two trips to look at model communities to see what works. In Morgantown, the delegation learned about the need for positive promotion and visualization. Anytime something of merit happens in Morgantown, news releases are sent statewide promoting the success. Additionally, the marketing materials utilized by Morgantown frequently use images of communities or themes that the city seeks to be like.
In Paducah, Ky., the delegation learned about how small touches, such as signage and flowers and green space, lend to the overall character and pride of a community.
But the greatest lesson learned from both trips was that Huntington has so much of offer. We have a beautiful downtown, a riverfront with untold potential and leaders with a vision, to name a few.
This is a community where anyone with determination and drive may succeed in whatever arena he or she chooses. Last week, I had a conversation with two Marshall students, one soon to be a graduate and the other an incoming graduate student. In our separate discussions, both individuals expressed a desire to want to live and work in Huntington because of the opportunity they saw. Each saw Huntington as a community that was on the rise.
Both individuals were from out of state and from metropolitan communities. They saw the future of Huntington and wanted to be a part of this up-and-coming community. They get it and don't want this opportunity to pass them by. Will you?
Brandi Jones is director of administration and finance for the city of Huntington.
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