Tom is a 25+ year resident of Germantown and the surrounding community. He currently lives in Hubertus with his wife and two small kids on a hobby farm near Bark Lake. Tom's blog will likely not save the world, but hopefully, you'll get some enjoyment from his ramblings.
How often do you get involved in your community? Have you ever volunteered your time to a local organization? Have you ever been called for and actively participated in jury duty? Do you regularly attend town board meetings to make your voice heard? Are you actively involved in your church or other local organizations?
For me , I wish I could answer “yes” to all of those questions, but I simply can’t. In fact, the closest I have ever come to performing community service would be something similar to what Paris Hilton may soon be doing (well, not really). Despite the fact that I’ve had friends called for jury duty so many times that they actually complain about it, I’ve never gotten that call. I’ve attended DNR hearings, but have never been to a local town board meeting. I vote on a regular basis, but that falls well short of getting involved in my community.
Do I sound like I’m feeling a bit guilty? I guess I am.
You’ll then understand why I was so excited to receive a flyer a couple of months back from a neighbor of mine seeking volunteers for a project. Turns out that the Town of Richfield had dedicated some funds to our community to construct a children’s play-set at the Bark Lake Community Park. Volunteers were needed to help defray the installation costs that normally come with this sort of play equipment. Given the fact that I live right across the street from the park and have two small kids of my own, it was natural for me to volunteer my time to the project.
So, on May 18th, me and several other neighbors all took time off from our “real jobs” and met the installation crew to build the play-set in the park. It was a beautiful day outside, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the experience. I got to meet many of my neighbors, and got to learn a little bit about each of them. I met several of Richfield’s “mucky-mucks” including the town building inspector and parks supervisor. When my wife brought my kids over for a visit, they got to meet some kids their age from down the street that we’d never met before. They hit it off right away, and I’m sure they’ll be seeing more of each other in the future.
The day went without a hitch. Well, almost. I managed to be the first casualty of the day by slicing a nice 14” gash in my arm as I broke one of the installer’s tools. My neighbors were quick to point out that people like me are the reason our taxes are so high, and then banished me from using any power tools for the rest of the day. Probably a smart move on their part, but it was all in good fun. By days end, our park had a beautiful new play-set, and since then, it has been used non-stop by many neighbors and families of our community. The park now provides a recreational meeting place for all, and I’m certain that many new friendships will be formed there in the years to come.
It was such a little project when you really think about it, but getting involved made me feel really good about myself, as I’m sure it did for the others that volunteered their time. From my own personal experience, I can say this - If you’ve never gotten involved in a community project before, I’d highly recommend that you do. And if anyone knows of some other community projects coming up in our area, I’d love to help out if you need me. I promise I’ll bring my own Band-Aids.
G’night G’Town.
If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep. ~Dale Carnegie
