Sharing Ideas

I write this blog to clear my mind of thoughts pertaining to life and its happenings. It’s a dump of feelings as well as thoughts. It is a reflection - my reflection - on why some things matter and others don’t. I am not egotistical enough to think your life revolves around me or my thinking. I really started this blog to unburden myself so I could focus on things that do matter.

This has allowed me to organize a local newspaper and act as its managing editor. It gave our group an eight year run of covering our community’s life. It was exciting and fulfilling. We worked hard not to be controversial, just factual. I’m sure we missed that a few times, but not intentionally. The only reason we closed the paper was financial pressure. The four of us simply could not continue to operate the paper from our own pockets, and advertising revenue was not enough to cover the bills. Of course, this was during the era of social media expansion which is mainly free and used extensively for marketing on the cheap. Why then, pay for an ad in the local newspaper? That is a continuing problem for all media organizations today. In summary, there is no free press; somehow it has to get paid for.

Another project I focused on was local artistic programming. Grant funding was available locally but help to program and produce the events was lacking. So, we formed an arts group to address the issues. We worked hard at this for four or five years and then allowed it to peter out. The work was exhausting and the thanks too few. Besides, we had trouble recruiting people to do the work making it harder on ourselves as we aged. Still, the effort was satisfying to us and good for the community.

Another enterprise engaged was and still is mentoring for SCORE.org. This is a national organization originally founded by the Small Business Administration. It works to help entrepreneurs start their own businesses, and to help other small businesses experiencing challenges. Our objective is to create and maintain a market in which small businesses thrive. Today, SCORE has more than 11,000 volunteer mentors. Most are retired executives with valuable experience to share with entrepreneurs. All of our services are free. Congress funds us because they love SCORE and what it accomplishes every year for the economy. I spend about 20 to 30 hours per week mentoring my clients. Most are nonprofit entities doing important work. Clients mostly come from Illinois, but my clients also operate in many other states. The work is very satisfying. I also donate a lot of strategic planning expertise to these clients.

This blog helps me keep my mind straight as I work in various activities. I am able to focus on those activities without mashing national social and political issues into the mix. It’s a good thing.

Now that family health issues are behind me, I can focus on writing the blog. Getting back in the swing is a challenge. I struggle not to bore readers while ventilating my brain. Thanks to readers for giving me that space to at least try.

November 3, 2023

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