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!