Time now to look at what's next (06/06/08)

Success brings its own problems.

If you're struggling to keep your head above water, there's no question what the next goal is. It's getting a good breath of air.

But if you're keeping your head above water and are making progress toward a distant shore, how do you measure your progress? How do you know if you're headed in the right direction? How do you know if you're getting there?

Folks in Jay County - to their credit - tend to be dissatisfied.

Whatever the current situation, there's a desire to take it to the next level.

But sometimes - and we suspect this is one of those times - it's hard to identify the next challenge.

By that, we don't mean to imply that all is hunky-dory.

But, at the same time, we would argue that Jay County has, convincingly, proved to be a leader among rural communities when it comes to some key indicators.

Jay County has:

•One of the best arts facilities in any rural community in the nation.

•A community college, in John Jay Center for Learning, that others in the Midwest envy.

•A countywide school corporation and countywide chamber of commerce that have folks thinking beyond the usual limits.

•One of the oldest and best endowed community foundations in the state.

•Community centers, both in Portland and in Dunkirk, that have an enviable amount of programming.

•A county hospital - when many counties have lost theirs - that seems to have a clear vision of where it's going and how it fits into the lives of its constituents.

•A countywide approach to economic development and one of the few county community development staffers in the state.

All good, and there are plenty more that could be listed.

But the next question is harder: What next?

Making a better community isn't just about doing. It's also about dreaming.

And our sense, at the moment, is that it's time to do a little dreaming.

John Jay Center for Learning was born during brainstorming sessions among folks at The Portland Foundation. Today, it's a solid, viable, admirable institution.

What's next?

A plateau? We hope not.

That would undermine all the good things that have happened. But similar things have happened before.

In the late 1960s, civic leaders helped spur a period of industrial growth; but they hit a plateau and no new group stepped forward with a new agenda. Years of the doldrums followed.

Today, believe it or not, Jay County is cited routinely in state circles as the best example on how to get things done, how to cooperate, how to plan, and how to envision the next challenge.

So, having had some success, our challenge is far different from the one facing the drowning man. It involves re-energizing, re-thinking, and looking at horizons we've never looked at before.

There's been plenty of doing. And there will be plenty more.

But, at the moment, it's time to dream, time to savor the accomplishments and the alliances that have been built so far, and time to ask ourselves as a community: What's next? - J.R.

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