Stay the extra hour with us!

Warning: This post is mostly my thoughts as the MAED Director. My hopes, dreams, and goals...

When I took on this role and position, in my mind I saw what I always envisioned for Murdo when I was in high school and college, coming to life. As I'm sitting here with18 months of learning and adapting to what Economic Development really is, truth be told, not much has changed, the dreams and goals have just gotten bigger! My realization is that I love the Murdo area, where we live, and the passion we have created for our hometown. As for Economic Development, essentially, it is what your community needs to help it thrive and continue to be successful. Therefore, I love my job and have a huge passion to assist in the success in our community... which is why I have finally gained enough confidence to share my personal hopes, dreams, and goals publicly.

The reality of this role is that others dreams and visions are not the same as mine. I have learned that sometimes, I just need to do and show my vision and other times I have had to learn how to articulate my personal vision and encourage others to tag along... and get them to agree that "stepping out of the ordinary" is going to be okay! So many good stories on both sides of that scenario. The ones that sting the most though, are the ones that lack support and enthusiasm.... and if I must confess, the visions that I may have been wrong about, as well.

But that is the glory of stepping out of the comfort zone. I remember in high school, Mrs. Ball always talked to us about our "comfort zone" in basketball. I thought she was crazy... turns out the more I immerse myself in personal development, leadership roles, and search opportunities for the community I love-Okaton, Murdo, and Draper- the more I relate to that phrase. And I feel like I step out of my comfort zone daily, so that probably identifies me as- CRAZY!

So, my personal goals as MAED Director:

• Two "Main Streets" in Murdo-5th Street used to attract visitors/travelers to the community with businesses, eating establishments, and places to stay and Main Street which will provide pride and excitement for community members.

• Housing opportunities in all 3 towns available for all income ranges, that families can continue to be proud to own/rent.

• Events created/promoted/supported by organizations and community members. Holding a space for the realization that not every event is for every community member, but by offering these event opportunities we will gain attraction and life to our community!

• Development in a community is a marathon, not a sprint. Meaning, my goal is to have a manufacturing company in our community of some sort. Something that fits our community dynamic, allowing our community gradual growth, and that will attract and retain a bountiful population. However, to get to that position, we must have an attractive quality of life (events, things to do, daycare, education, etc.), which I think we do an amazing job already at! We also need housing, which we have identified and began working on with the Murdo Development Corp. with the purchase of their two Governor's homes. I believe another area we need to begin focusing on, is asking our graduates and alumni to return to our community and look at rural living along with the opportunity to start up their own small business, work for existing business, or "just be" in our community. We need to navigate away from our youth leaving for a different lifestyle and instead, encourage them to come back and find a leadership role in our community to continue helping our towns thrive.

• We need to capitalize on our tourism capabilities. We are the gateway to the Badlands and Black Hills as well as Native Tourism, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, hunting season, and our stary nights. I believe we have the capability to offer visitors more than where we are at currently and I personally believe it's time to embrace tourism, welcome visitors with open arms, and provide them a reason to stay in Murdo.

At the beginning of the week, I was having a conversation with a community member and they mentioned that the Geisler's had a tag line years ago that played off of the time zone change- "Spend an extra hour with us in Murdo!" How can we continue that vision that Dave created years ago? If we can get visitors to spend an extra hour, then maybe we can get them to stay an extra day, which may just lead to them spending the rest of their lives with us in our community that we are so proud of and we love to call home.

The one thing I can guarantee you, is this does not happen with one person or one organization. Success in our community comes with collaboration, working together, supporting one another, and continuing to share the pride of where we live. Together, we can attract individuals to spend an extra hour with us and together we will attract success.