Just a quick blog to publicly thank all of you who participated in the Community Clean Up Day and the Small Business Development Seminar on Saturday and for understanding the need for me to spend some family time.

Thanks to all of you who coordinated and participated in my absence.

With out all of your support the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce would not be the organization it is today.

THANK YOU!

As I sit on my patio today going through this week’s local newspaper these thoughts came to mind.

In one paper there are two very different stories about hope and community with varying results.

One article is about 4 of Maricopa’s “finest” who without the financial support of the City they serve, went to Las Vegas to compete in the “First Responders” competition and won 4th place in the country! WOW way to go men! Only 1 anonymous donor and 1 local business gave their support.

The other was about a local homicide and the funds that have been set up to support the surviving children.

Both stories find their hope in the unfailing support of this community but I find it a little ironic that “we” as a community are more willing to help fund tragic causes and unwilling to aid those trying to showcase our community to the entire Country. Is the message we are trying to portray that we are a community only willing to step out and help if the need is born from some dire circumstance?

Now, I am in no way criticizing the local media, in fact I applaud all their collective efforts each week to bring us local news in a clear and concise way. I am however concerned that our local residence and those outside this community will not see the Maricopa that I do every day.

The Maricopans I see are a passionate, community spirited group who give countless hours to the many, many service organizations here. I will admit that I am forever an optimist and “glass half full” girl and strive to see the good in all so I will carry on with my rose colored glasses and hope you will not think too harshly of me as I continue my quest to help Maricopa grow into the City we all envision.

I was recently in a situation where the manager of business was talking to a customer when a person in a upper management position, who really did not know the entire situation, proceeded to question the manager’s decisions in front of the customer.

Not only was this upper level behavior rude but it also made all involved very uncomfortable and undermined the manager’s authority. Wouldn’t the situation been better handled after the customer left, or if the upper management person excused themselves and had a side conversation with the manager?

It has been my experience as an employer that employees who are treated with respect and dignity make better employees and those managers or employers who feel the need to degrade and undermine people who answer to them are naïve, insecure, jealous or just plain tyrants.

After all businesses are just another form of community and if we all work together then the common goal is achieved and since we spend more time at work than home we should treat our people with the respect they have earned.

You decide…