My apologies to those viewers who might be getting bored with my SOC Indicators streak of blogs, but I can’t help myself. I’m addicted to this city’s Sense of Community.
Our Community – Petaluma – is second to none when it comes to a citizenry that has created a “spirit” or a SOC that can’t be beat. Why am I on such a “kick?” Read on –
Every Wednesday, when the printed version of the Argus-Couier arrives, as it did yesterday; I found the articles to be the greatest indicator of this sense of community that I keep harping about. Let’ take a look at the various sections for the “Week of May 10-16, 2006” edition:
Front Section: Page 1 headline – “Gary and Lynn Imm Honored: Couple Received 2006 Gene and Evelyn Benedietti Leadership Award. (Talk about long term service!)
Sports Section: WOW! How many different teams and sports can one town support? Ask JJ Jackson, Sports Editor – he’s up to date on every athletic event in Petaluma.
Editorial & Opinion Section: Although they all don’t agree with each other, op-ed writers and Letters to the Editor reflect how citizens are trying to be advocates for the “greatest good for the greatest number of people.”
Business Section: Buried among the real estate ads is a great story about the new ledership at the family-run Clover Stornetta Farms. This description of the family’s third generation certainly depicts a commitment to its community. The company’s “spirit” is represented by, Clo, the mascot who we’ve all learned to know and love. (Personally, I’m waiting for Clo to become Cow-puter Literate; but that’s another story for another time.)
Community Section: There are over 40 different notices related to a variety of community action and special interest groups. In addition, there are feature articles as well as the “Yesteryears” column by Katie Watts. This section, alone, is a great indicator of Petaluma’s SOC.
Our local newspaper has been reporting these kinds of stories for over 150 years. Quite often, we take for granted many of these volunteer “do-gooder” endeavors. Over the years, various organizations have sponsored special events to honor and recognize selected community leaders. The Chamber of Commerce/Argus-Courier’s Annual Community Awards Ceremony and the recent Petaluma Valley Hospital’s Gene and Evelyn Benedetti Leadership Award are examples.
What about the hundreds of other citizens who have served a variety of community benefit organizations for years, that have not received any recognition outside their respective groups? Wouldn’t it be great if another type of ceremony could be created? Perhaps it might be modeled on how the City of Petaluma honors long time employees, whereby 5-10-15-20+ years of service is publicly recognized. We might possible name it the “UHA” ceremony (pronounced “You Ha!”) for the Unsung Heroes Award. The Argus-Courier would publish the names of the UHAs for the community under the appropriate numbers of service year categories. Such an event would be another SOC Indicator for Petaluma. Think about it! Stay tuned for future developments.