When circumstances don’t turn out as expected, you adapt, improvise and overcome.  Being able to assess the options, and being open to innovation, can result in stronger choices for the future – not only for our economic bottom line but also for the quality of life in Bartow County.

The route of the new 411 connector has been the subject of much talk and concern for years.  Not just for the property it may cross, but also for the opportunities it could bring to our area and how we can make the most of them.  With the selected route diverting traffic toward Rome, now is the time to adapt.

The Bartow County Industrial Park was projected to bring more businesses and growth, but changes in circumstances have made the intended facilities less in demand than expected.  No cosmetic quick-fix is on offer, and the economic situation for its future is not promising.

Improvising means new ideas to replace old ideas from different economic standards that no longer apply.  In this situation, it means asking what that site could support, and what would benefit Bartow County by being there.  On recent business trips I have inspected some green energy generating facilities – wind power in Sweetwater, Texas, and solar power at the Los Alamos Research Facility in New Mexico.  Bringing such options here would result in a valuable product which requires fewer buildings and would overcome site issues.  And as an investment in expanding technologies, it would advance Bartow County’s image as a place for research and development, and a chance to grow our community at the professional level.

Looking into the future, we need plans for economic growth that are open to more diversified options for the long-range development of our area.  With an economic development plan that includes a diversity of research, development and service sectors, Bartow County will have a better chance of success than an economic plan with a singular focus – as we have seen in recent years, when our manufacturing companies took a hit and we all suffered.  Expanding our options into research and development may be that broader vision we are looking for.

Whether we pursue this particular option for a new energy facility or another direction, we need some forward thinking not only about what we have today but where we want to get to tomorrow.  And we need to be about it – there are very few opportunities that present themselves in such a manner.  We either increase or decrease our competitive advantage.  It doesn’t matter where a good idea comes from – it is the innovation that will enable us to overcome.

Is Bartow County ready to re-think yesterday’s plans, and find a connection to new industries and economic opportunities – for our current businesses and residents, and those we want to attract?

Everybody will remember where they were that morning, and where they heard the news on September 11th.

As the entire armed services of the United States – regular forces, Reserves, National Guard, everybody – was put on alert, everyone with any sense of responsibility was gearing up.  I remember taking the phone call that afternoon from my commander, advising me of the alert status and what my actions were to be.  That will stay in my mind for a long time to come. 

Finding ourselves in a position to where our homeland was being attacked, it put our generation into the same shock and awe as the Pearl Harbor generation experienced.  The difference is that instead of a state or a political party as before, this enemy was a group of extremists.

These different circumstances demanded changes in our military response.  We did not declare war on Afghanistan, we declared war on the Taliban.   But how can you wage war against a state that can’t surrender: central command in Afghanistan was in Kabul, and everything else was directed by the local warlords.  Afghanistan could not surrender because their standing government was opposed to the Taliban.

But rather than use outdated tactics, or abandon hope in the face of unforeseen changes, we moved forward.  There is nothing more stimulating than objectives that work against you.  You work harder to achieve the objective when everything is working against you. 

While serving in the Army Reserves in Michigan at the beginning of Desert Shield, I volunteered for transfer to a battalion scheduled for immediate deployment in the Persian Gulf.  I had been trained for Nuclear Biological and Chemical Operations, and found myself in circumstances to accept responsibility in this dangerous assignment, to do the most possible damage to the enemy and to protect these companies of over 900 soldiers. 

As the Chemical Recon Leader in the Desert Shield and Desert Storm missions, I was challenged to come up with a new way to decontaminate a convoy that had come into contact with chemical or biological agents.  These different circumstances demanded changes in our response.  While in a combat zone, I designed and constructed a mobile decontamination device, which was subsequently adopted by the U.S. Army, with versions of it sent out to all transportation units in the theater, and protected untold numbers of soldiers.

We will never forget September 11, 2001.  In those actions, on that morning, our circumstances changed forever.

Different circumstances still demand changes in how we respond.  Change is going to be forced upon us, whether we like it or not, and everyone with any sense of responsibility will be gearing up. And it is in how we handle changes that we will be judged, and how we will remember and be remembered.