Glynn County Just Keeps Getting Better

Neptune Park Fun Zone Pool on St. Simons Island, GA

The weekend of July 15^th I had the opportunity to visit the Tampa, Florida area.  I have been to Tampa before, but it has been several years ago.  Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater is one large, continuous area.  Parts of the area are very nice and parts of the area are not so nice and appear to be old.  The area exceeds well over a million people and has all of the traffic associated with other large US cities.  The budget for Hillsborough County is in the Billion range and they have thousands of employees.  When I think of Tampa I think of a place I would like to visit.  I am a member of the International City County Management Association and they have an annual conference each year.  I know that Tampa submitted a bid for the 2019 conference, but was not selected.  I am not sure why they were not selected, but for me I have been to better cities that have offered more.

While I was in Tampa I thought about Glynn County and how attractive our area is.  I think we have one of the best kept secrets in the nation.  Before I moved here I was one of those who had experienced the secret and kept coming back for more.  I first came to the area in 1998 when I was Manager in Lowndes County and have been coming back ever since.  Why did I keep coming back?  Because things kept getting better!  Although it has been 22 years since I had been to Tampa I really have no pulling desire to return.  It is basically the same place as it was in 1989 when I was last there.  However, in the 13 years since I first experienced the beauty of the Islands, our area keeps getting better.  I guess some could say that it is like a fine wine that gets better with age.

The Board of Commissioners' goal is to continue to make our golden isles better.  In fact, they and other community leaders have developed a Strategic Plan that will continue to move Glynn County forward.  The vision of the Board is: “Glynn County will be the nation’s premier, uniquely diverse, most desirable ecofriendly coastal community”.  The Strategic Plan will focus on the following areas:  Technology based education systems, natural resources and eco-tourism, heritage and history, economic development and international trade, recreation and active lifestyles, attractive gateways and corridors, integrated transportation network and leading edge government.  We have our work cut out for us to reach this vision and the goals that have been developed.  However, successful communities get started with a vision and keep moving forward.  My sense is that whether it be 10 years or 20 years from now, Glynn County will be a better place and will become the nation’s premier coastal community. 

Secrets are meant to be shared and our secret of being a great place will continue to be shared with others.  The successful columnist and writer Rhonda Rich continues to mention St. Simons Island in her columns and my guess is those who follow her will want to find out about this gem called St. Simons Island and experience all that Glynn County has to offer.  How many coastal communities do you know of that have an outstanding mainland and four beautiful islands?  Can’t think of any myself!

Back to Life in the USA

Life is back to normal after returning from my trip to China.  My flights back to the States were long, but non-eventful and it was good to be home.  On my Journey home I flew from Xian, China to Seoul, Korea.  In Seoul I boarded a Delta flight to Detroit.  It took me a minute to realize that I did not need to speak through an interpreter and the people on the plane actually spoke my language.  They even had real coffee and lots of diet coke, so I knew it would be a good ride back home!

Monday, June 27^th was my first day back on the job after being gone for over two weeks.  It was great to be back!  I found things exactly like I thought I would.  With the exception of the great swamp fire all “fires” had been put out before I returned.  Of course I expected nothing less.  I work with an outstanding group of people and the County is always in good hands!  I cannot say that I had any jet lag because during the day I felt great, but around 8:00 each evening I was very, very tired and had to go to bed.  This is unusual for me because I usually do not leave the office until 8:00 or later.  This past weekend, I felt fully rested and ready to resume my normal work schedule.

Traditionally, Glynn County sponsors a fireworks show on St. Simons Island on the Fourth of July at the Pier and this year was no exception.  Last year, before I was on the official payroll, I watched the display from the East Beach area.  This year I was up close right at the Pier.  It was a wonderful display that lasted for 30 minutes.  It was great to hear the oohs and aahs from the people around me.  I sensed that everyone truly appreciated the display and enjoyed their time that evening.  The weather could not have been better and the crowd was orderly.  I thought the Police Department did a great job directing traffic after the display and getting people off of the Island in a timely fashion.  It is great that so many come out each year to celebrate our freedom, which has come at a price.  I am very grateful for those men and women who serve us this day to continue to protect our freedom.

As a government worker I get to celebrate two new year’s each year.  One is on January 1^st and the other is on July 1^st when the county fiscal year begins.  During the spring of each year a lot of hours are spent on developing the budget for the next fiscal year and then the Board adopts the budget in June of each year.  It is always nice to get the budget adopted and enter into a new fiscal year.  The budget numbers for last fiscal year won’t be final for a few more weeks, but the County will finish in a strong financial position, which is a credit to the conservative fiscal policy of the Board of Commissioners and the diligent work of department heads to live within their resources.  As the new year has begun we have a lot of work to do.  I like the slogan of Jekyll Island “It’s All Good” and when you live in paradise it truly is All Good.  Yes, we do have occasional problems, which I refer to as opportunities, but with a positive spirit and a team effort those problems truly become great opportunities.

I look forward to continuing to update the BLOG with what I hope are items of interest about Glynn County.  My door is always open and I welcome input from others so feel free to call me or send me an e-mail with your thoughts.