Hartsville memories stay with you

Got the opportunity to attend the USC game on Saturday night. Had not been in a couple of years and it was a good time, even if the offense underperformed and the entire team underwhelmed. But -- and this is where it relates to community thinking...

During a lull in the halftime activities I heard the word "Hartsville" in a conversation going on behind me. Okay, I should not have, but I kept listening. One guy was telling another that he had lived in Hartsville several years and "We really liked living there" He followed that up with a couple of things about what a friendly town it was and what interesting things were going on. Now, this guy was a couple of years younger than I am and he has been gone from Hartsville since the mid 80s. But, with energy and enthusiasm he was remembering what a great place it is to live.

Okay, so I am not subtle. I jumped into the conversation, introduced myself and told him about our idea of Hartsville as The Art of Good Living. I even invited him to move back if he and his family were looking at another move.

The point? In thinking about our Community I think we have to remember that those of us who live here may be missing out on a lot by not realizing how much others think about this place we call home. The marketers from Carolina PR reminded us in their study of the city in preparation for this branding initiative, that Hartsville is a town with an embarrassment of riches. We have all kinds of activities ongoing from Upward Soccer to Community Players in "GodSpell" to a day of medieval activities, to a high school band winning top honors in competition, to financial institutions (in this time of financial strain) reinvesting in their businesses in Hartsville and even a pumpkin patch in preparation for Halloween.

On Thursday we have what is being called the LAUNCH of the Selling Hartsville campaign. The primary audience for this launch is us. We need to remind ourselves and our friends and our neighbors that we should take the many things we have going for us in this town for granted.

The Selling Hartsville Marketing Task Force came up with five pillars around which we tell this story: Learning, Lifestyle, Leisure, Livelihood and Legacy. Let's celebrate. The logo for the Selling Hartsville effort is the slogan "Hartsville, The Art of Good Living." Another key idea in this program is that one of the great things about this town is that you can always 'Expect Pleasant Surprises.' How about coming downtown on Thursday evening to say hello to friends and neighbors and maybe even make some new friends and meet some long-time neighbors and maybe find a pleasant surprise or two that will add to your appreciation of our cosmopolitan small city.

Wow -- lots going on in this small city

Take Byerly Park for example. Happened to be there this morning about 7:15 so I could get a couple of miles of walking on the 1.2 mile track. I was not alone on that track. Okay, only about 15 other people, but, think about it. At 7:15 in the morning 16 people getting walking exercise. As we walked or ran, I began to notice that the quarter mile track also had several people doing some running. And, about 7:40 it really got some people as the undefeated Hartsville High runners were showing up for a Saturday workout and at almost the same time the men's and women's cross country teams from Coker College were also starting their Saturday morning work outs.

Across the park in the soccer area the UPWARD Soccer league was laying out field for the younger kids and by 8 a.m. those parking lots were getting crowded with families out for Saturday morning soccer and the noise of cheering showed there was a great deal of excitement for this league. As I was finishing my four laps more cars started to park at the other end of the park. Football players began to jump from those cars as the Hartsville Recreation Saturday morning football games began cranking up.

There's more, and remember, we have not left Byerly Park yet. The first officials began to arrive at the softball fields, where Coker College is sponsoring a Fall tournament that is including technical college teams, Division II NCAA teams and softball traveling teams. At one point there were hundreds of people all over Byerly Park. I know you can find that in larger cities but there are not many cities the size of Hartsville that have that much activity at one outdoor location.

And, later on Saturday, Godspell, a production of the local community players was going to be in their second performance of the weekend at the Center Theater. I will also bet that people with the Black Creek Arts Council were putting their finishing touches on the Artist Crawl that is being held on this weekend too.

Check out other areas that boast of the Small-city values. There are few with the variety and breadth of activities on such a regular basis. Hartsville is unique and fits so well our new marketing logo -- "Hartsville - The Art of Good Living."

Butler Community Meeting Developed Lots of Ideas

There was a great deal of activity in the gym at the former Butler High School this past Tuesday evening. The Hartsville Planning Department under Rodney Tucker put together an event to generate community input to a process of redeveloping the Butler property, which at one time was a focal point for the South Hartsville community. Butler is also a major legacy in the history and education of many long-time African-American Hartsville area residents.

Currently, the Butler Heritage Foundation is rebuilding the former administration area to make a community center. The Hartsville Boys and Girls Club has been using the gym and a former wing of the school for their activities and the Pee Dee Council on Aging also has daily events at the location.

City planner Rodney Tucker learned a great deal about community planning and development at Clemson and he had an idea the school could could help develop a framework to help with redeveloping this property, which plays such a prominent role in the South entrance to the city of Hartsville. A large team of graduate students led by Professor Dr. Grant Cunningham were in Hartsville earlier this week meeting with lots of people and organizing the community-input session.

This project is a hands-on learning experience for these students, who are working for graduate degrees in planning or landscape architecture or a combination of these fields. The students were deeply involved in running the sessions and there were a significant number (my guess is 50+) citizens who were joining in this process.

This project will last through January. Anyone with questions should contact Rodney Tucker at the Hartsville Planning Department. This was an exciting night for building community and for an extremely focused effort of thinking about a specific area of the community.

Quick Thought on Anniversaries in a Community

Was at Hartsville Drug Store this afternoon and Joe McCullogh, Jr. and I were talking about doing business in Hartsville. This year Hartsville Drug Company is 60 years old, founded in 1948 by Joe's father.

This past week the S. C. Governor's School for Science and Mathematics celebrated its 20th year of existence. It was established as a high school for students from around South Carolina who are good in science and mathematics. Those students who are accepted spend their junior and senior high school years in residence at this this State High School.

The Hartsville Fire Department is celebrating its Centennial this year and they will be recognized by the Mayor at the Selling Hartsville Launch on October 2, 2008.

Coker College is celebrating its centennial this year and they will be recognized by Mayor Michael Holt at the Selling Hartsville Launch in downtown Hartsville on October 2.

Just in these short anniversaries we see the Hartsville Art of Good Living pillars of Legacy, Livelihood and Learning and probably even Lifestyle. The other pillar is Leisure and there is probably an anniversary for that but I don't have it in the top of my mind.

Just a thought on Hope

On this Saturday morning I was thinking much less about the "public good" and much more about my personal good as I embarked on the normal four-mile 'health' walk. Then, as I moved through the walls of fog and came upon the National Guard Armory a major surprise -- there was a platoon of young people. They were apparently engaged in a PFT test -- many of them were doing pushups with people in uniform doing the counting.

It was then that the ray of hope sort of burned off some of that morning fog. It was not quite eight oclock on a Saturday morning. The platoon was not age-diverse -- it was all young but beyond that it was America -- Southern style. There was every shade of person and nearly as many females as males and their mission -- to become better soldiers. For whom are they performing their mission -- Us or U.S., if that works better for you.

As I was watching and probably even counting some of those push ups, I was also listening to Tom Friedman's new book "Flat, Hot & Crowded" and a paragraph he had in his first part about the willingness and eagerness of our young citizens to become engaged in something bigger than themselves. Through my ears to the the front yard of the National Guard Armory. Proof that there is evidence for HOPE. To continue effective community building efforts hope is a critical ingredient.

So, Why does everything take so long...

During the Rotary Club talk about Selling Hartsville on Tuesday afternoon, one person, who had been involved in the community conversations and other aspects, questioned "Why is taking so long?"

The question hung in the air for awhile. It is a question that I find myself asking all the time. Why do things that make so much sense to me take so long to get up and running, off the ground and producing results.

Part of the answer ---
** It obviously takes some time to build support for an initiative that might not be as critical as some of us may think.
*** Why is that?
****When you look at some of the discussions on the concept of change you find that very often it is nearly impossible to get change to happen until there is a crisis that precipates that change. Without being too political, think about the crisis the past eight years have brought on and you begin to see what it takes for people to adopt the word change -- both candidates are running as agents of change.
****I know it is written in other places on this blog but as Jeannie Robertson said, "Change doesn't happen until the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same."

***Okay, you say what is this need for change you are talking about in the Hartsville community?
1 -- Have you looked at the direction the population census has been taking?
2 -- Do you notice that very nice houses up for sale stay up for sale month after month after month after month
3 -- Do you hear the rhetoric from local government about the lack of a tax base adequate to pay for a community that needs the services our community needs?
4 -- Have you had a son, daughter or other try to find a good job in the area over recent times?
5 -- Have you heard the stories of people coming to work at companies and other institutions in Hartsvlle who are choosing to commute from Florence, or Camden or Columbia or even Charlotte.
6 -- Do you know people who want to open a business but don't because so many of their friends are always saying, I go to Florence to get that...

WHY
We need a WILL to change
We need a VISION of what that change will bring us
We need a responsible, authentic, authoritative, accountable group to move the agenda
We need authentic, authority-laden, accountable individual leaders to move the agenda
We need an understanding that just because things are "fine" or "Ok" today they are not going to be either fine or okay tomorrow without a lot of work today
We need a positive energy to ignite the population
We need to figure out how to initiate the change prior to the crisis because as I have been quoting (adapting from Walt Whitman) Change comes to the prepared community.

The plea is for anyone reading this to take what you read and then initiate some conversations about what it means, first -- HARTSVILLE - THE ART OF GOOD LIVING. It almost always makes sense to start the discussion from a positive position. Second, engage others in the discussion that revolves around why more people aren't understanding the need for active selling of our Greater Hartsville community. One of our major copy headlines in the initiative is "Expect Pleasant Surprises." For me, it will be a pleasant and welcome surprise for people to continue this discussion using the comment button, so we can see what others think.

Rotary Club and Sellling Hartsville

One of the institutions that has always been at the forefront of making Hartsville a better community in which to live is the Hartsville Rotary Club. Rotary International is one of the most 'can-do' organizations in the world. Today I got the opportunity to talk with the Rotary about the Selling Hartsville initiative. If the entire Selling Hartsville idea is going to take hold in our community it is going to have to be the civic clubs who play a major ongoing role. Looking out at the audience it was also apparent that we need to find ways to bring additional people to our community and get more people involved in all facets of the community. Several groups of people you might expect to be significantly represented in civic organizations are there in the numbers they used to be. Over the past several years --as Putnam has observed in BOWLING ALONE, there has been less participation in these groups and one of my beliefs is that if a community is going to thrive it has to reverse this trend. As noted in other blogs there are communities fighting not to survive -- but to thrive. I'm hoping that we see a lot of Rotarians and lots of other Hartsvillians at the October 2 launch of Selling Hartsville. The invitation tody was that they come to the launch to meet neighbors and gather with friends to remind each other what a treasure trove of assets we have in the Hartsville community.

It is a competitive, community world

Several of the recent posts have focused on the sense of urgency that I believe needs to be developed around the selling Hartsville initiative. By nearly any metric, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area is thought of as one of the top places to live in the country. That part of North Carolina, called Orange County, is not just sitting around enjoying their position at the pinnacle of communities. In fact, at the end of this week that community has a trip planned to Ann Arbor, Michigan to see how another successful community sustains their growth and life style. In the corporate world this would be called benchmarking. In the academic world, this would be called research. In the Chapel Hill/Carrboro community is is a sold-out trip that is costing participants or their organizations significant dollars to participate. But, the trip is sold out, as was the last one to Madison, WI. These communities understand the sense of urgency and they understand that when you stop getting better, you stop being good.

Selling Hartsville is not an option

Trite as it often sounds, Hartsville is a unique community. In the studying of the community leading up to the discussions of Selling Hartsville strategy it became increasingly apparent that this community is unlike most towns that is most like in demographics, location, background, etc. The city is approximately 7,300 people -- small and by all accounts dropping in population. At the same time, those of us living within the community and within the the greater Hartsville area are feeling a sense of vibrancy.

There is so much going on. There are so many people in this community, born here, moved here, coming here who find Hartsville a great place to live. And, on any given day we have nearly three times the population visiting our area to shop, to work, to go to school, to visit, to tour, to play and to compete. We used to say that no one gets to Hartsville by mistake. We are a bit out of the way, stuffed into the near northeastern corner of South Carolina exactly half way between Charlotte and Myrtle Beach on Highway 151 -- 55 miles from Columbia; about 20 miles from Florence and about 90 miles from Myrtle Beach and two and half hours from Charleston. While no one comes by accident, we have visitors here for Coker College, for Sonoco, for the S.C. Governor's School of Science and Math, for Stingray Boats, and for a variety of shopping opportunities in our authentic, All-American downtown, We have athletes in all the time competing at Byerly Park and our Center Theater is one of the most exquisite performing venues in the State. The consultants we used for the Selling Hartsville study called this an embarrassment of riches that most communities our size would never even be able to imagine.

Yet, amidst this community in which there is nearly always something to do, even if only to go to the downtown movie theater showing first-run films for $2 a ticket, there is the cloud that many people who could be living here are choosing to live in larger communities within commuting distance. Many of those people choose these other communities without giving Hartsville a real look; because Hartsville is small and what could there be to do there.

What does this mean? It means that if do not reverse this trend homes will take longer to sell. Entrepreneurs, instead of choosing downtown Hartsville, might start choosing other towns. People who might contribute significant talents to building our local community will be putting their efforts into other communities. This is not something we can let happen if we want a thriving community (like today) in five, 10 or 15 years. That is why the Selling Hartsville initiative has been started.

Earlier today there was a program on National Public Radio about leadership in communities. The community featured (9-6-08) has been fighting just to survive and they have been successful at surviving but they do not thrive. In Hartsville we have the opportunity now to actively remind ourselves of the riches and resources of this community and urge each other to take advantage of this unique blend of livlihood, leisure, lifestyle, legacy and learning. We have the opportunity to develop some processes to acquaint potential residents with the friendliness that is so apparent most people who just stop by for a cup of coffee at the Rooster go away talking about this experience. We also have to understand that none of this will just happen. If we want this community to continue thriving and progressing we have to sell its advantages. Let's think about what this logo means: "Hartsville, The Art of Good Living." When you answer what it means to you make sure you share your answer with a friend, a neighbor and someone who does not live in our community. At the same time listen when others tell you what "Hartsville - The Art of Good Living" means to them. It will be amazing to you how quickly your examples and anecdotes will expand.

As we developed the thinking behind Selling Hartsville, one of the things that became apparent to those working on this project was how many different things they were able to point that they never expected to find. That is where a copy headline developed -- Expect Pleasant Surprises. For example, are you into exercise. The Hartsville Family YMCA, one of the most forward thinking and looking facilities of its kind, is sponsoring a triathlon. That same weekend you can attend a Division II NCAA soccer contest. There is a great art exhibit at the Black Creek Arts Council called "Unbidden Visions" and the problem with starting this type of list is that you always forget something.

There have been a significant number of people working on the Selling Hartsville Task Forces the past few months. That is one thing about Hartsville, you can find lots of willing hands, backs and minds when things need doing. The introduction of the Selling Hartsville initiative is taking place in downtown Hartsville on Thursday evening, October 2 over a period of about three hours from five (with the dedication of Burry Park) to eight with lots of entertainment and some good information. Everyone is invited to come up to enjoy this First Thursday in Hartsville, meet your friends and neighbors as you stroll this real-live American downtown. One of the hallmarks of a healthy, growing community is the realization that you have to keep working at being better. Those communities that reach the top of 'best places to live' lists are always looking for ways to get better. Hartsville can be among those communities recognized as among the best if we understand the need to sell our advantages and continue to work on improving those areas of our community that need enhancing -- businesses call this continuous improvement or product improvement. A former boss had an important message that he shared frequently with his organization -- "when you stop being better, you stop being good."

Let's all work together to demonstrate why Hartsville is The Art of Good Living and to continue to create unexpected pleasant surprises for ourselves and all those who might come to visit or live in our unique community.

It's Hartsville, of course there is a Show opening

Hartsville - the Art of Good Living is the logo to identify the initiative we call Selling Hartsville. One of the first places that logo was unveiled was the Black Creek Arts Council on College Avenue in downtown Hartsville. The BCAC is one of the gems or jewels that in the push of the Selling Hartsville, we call a Pleasant Surprise. And, in Hartsville you can always "Expect Pleasant Surprises."

A pleasant surprise is what awaited Gallery visitors on Thursday evening as the large number of visitors went in to view the "Unbidden Visions" of Shawn Lay, a Coker College professor of history and talented artist. The visions that come to life in the drawings on the walls of the BCAC Gallery seem out of the past heyday of ComicBook art. Most of these visions seem to jump from the drawings as super villains, not super heroes -- but that could just be a personal perspective. Not being an art critic of any stripe the best advice here would be to stop by the Gallery and judge for yourself. Dr. Lay's show will be up until September 26th.

One of last night's Pleasant Surprises was the large number of new visitors I saw coming into the Gallery. Large numbers of students who did not even know the Gallery existed came to view the show. Lots of Coker professors also had their first exposure to the Gallery. With the innovative shows and programs that are a key hallmark of Black Creek Arts Council, it is likely many of these first-time visitors will become repeat patrons. Hartsville may be a small city but the resources available in this town do give us lifestyle riches beyond most imagining. One of the messages in the Selling Hartsville initiative (to those of us already living in this community) is to not take these riches and resources for granted. Sustainability requires nurturing. If you want more information on Black Creek, check with Bruce Douglas, the executive director.

A lot of unusual early morning activity in Hartsville

Right at six this morning there was a lot of unusual activity in the Hartsville. Fourteenth Street was much busier than ususal as lots of cars came past the powerline and then took right turns into the National Guard parking lot. You have heard there are about 2500 Guard troops on alert for the weekend weather. Yesterday a student of mine came in and said her unit, Florence/Timmonsville had people activated and it looks like many of the Hartsville Guard have also been put on alert. Isn't it amazing how much we take for granted until a potential crisis looms? Thanks to those troops who have interrupted their normal lives to help others feel more secure in their lives.