Inside city hall, 7-1-09

The Munday Farmer’s Market got underway last Saturday morning. Clarence and Etta Searcy became the first gardeners to bring their produce to market. I tip my black-eyed pea basket to the Searcys. It was a brave move on their part to step out and be the first. It was also a big move. The garden gate is open, let the produce flow through the gates of Munday.

Who will come out and join us before and after the parade? This weekend will be a great time to have produce to sell. Mark my word, there will be a crowd in town for the parade. It doesn’t matter if you only have a little to bring, your presence will mean a lot to the Farmer’s Market idea. Remember, this is the beginning of something that will become big. So, think big, even if you have a little. The Farmer’s Market in Las Angeles began with one man and his pickup and homegrown vegetables and today it is huge. I imagine the one in Dallas started the same way. The one in Munday has started the same way: Clarence and Etta took a huge step forward for all of us. Thank you Clarence and Etta.

I hope you have noticed how the parade fever has struck in Munday. Every where I go I hear people talking about their float or another one. This kind of excitement has been missing in Munday for too long. So let’s fan the breeze and work it up to hurricane pitch, then hold on for the ride.

In just the past week I have been introduced to some great ideas, some big dreams for Munday. In time we will share these ideas and ask for input on how to accomplish them. They are all too big for one person to accomplish, so we need partners who are ready to jump on board and go with the flow. Let’s get back on track and back to the future.

With this edition I would like to introduce the Mayor’s “Atta Boy Honor Roll”, and the idea of “volunteerism”. I am aware of certain individuals who have given themselves to Munday in big blocks of time and energy. In the weeks ahead I will be recognizing these folks and naming them to the Honor Roll. The Munday Courier will also recognize them by running a story and photo of each honoree. These are people who have the volunteer spirit and a love for Munday with a desire to see Munday look good and be good.

So before we even begin naming names I’m asking you, the public, for suggestions and nominations for future honorees. We want to recognize everyone who has this spirit and this love for Munday. These people do not mind working, sweating, freezing, whatever it takes to put Munday ahead. You know someone like this, so let us hear from you, write to us at Honor Roll, Drawer 39, Munday, TX 76371.

These folks would never ask to be included in something like this. In fact, some of them will be embarrassed. But some of them have been doing things for this city for years and have never been recognized for their work. It’s time we honored them, this is only a token of what they deserve.

In the weeks and months ahead we will be working on a master list of volunteer projects in Munday. This will be a list of things that just don’t get done around town. There’s a lot of things that fall under the city’s jurisdiction that are way down on the list. Well, a lot of them never get done. They are things that volunteers can do. I’m asking you to put aside ideas that are so prevalent around town: things like “why should someone have to volunteer to do things that the city boys are paid to do?” If you think that way, we don’t want you on our volunteer team. You would be like a rotten apple in the bag, and your spirit would spoil the whole bag. We need to change the way we think and the way we talk. We is me, and we is you. Think about it and take it to heart. Put Munday first.

Market Munday every chance you get.