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Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News April 16, 2005 - Speaker to residents: Go Make It Happen By Beth Burger, Daily Tribune Staff Katherine Tyler Scott had a message for the Wisconsin Rapids community Friday - get involved, take a risk and make it happen. Scott was the sixth speaker in the Community Progress Initiative New Ideas Speaker series. The experiences Wisconsin Rapids has gone through - with job losses and a decline in industry - could be equated to family grief, Scott said during her presentation at the Hotel Mead. "It takes time for the community to heal and change. I think you've done that," Scott said. "I think it's only human nature to have fears about the state of things. It's a question of who we are. It's really a question of values." Raj Deshpande said Scott's words were encouraging. Deshpande opened Kumon Math and Reading Center with his wife last October, even though he couldn't get a loan from the bank and had to finance the center himself. "I took a big risk," he said. "But the thing is, looking back, I won't wonder if I made it or not. I did my part. I followed my vision." Chelsey Ross, a 19-year-old University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student from Wisconsin Rapids, covered Scott's speech for a college news class. But that wasn't the only interest she had in Scott's message. "I wanted to make sure youth was a focus," Ross said. "This needs to be a place youth can come back to." Scott challenged the crowd to have a vision. "Vision is having the ability to see beyond what is. Envision the community for a time you will not be here and for people you will never meet," she said. The Community Progress Initiative is a positive step, Scott said. "After experiencing a 25 percent reduction in employment, you have been able to keep or maintain 1,000 jobs," Scott said. She told the crowd anxiety can be fuel for change. Scott discussed numerous examples of towns that had economic hardships. But by pulling together as a community, they became successful again. "The seeds of success are here," she said, telling everyone that they had the potential for leadership. "You have what it takes to make it happen." You can reach reporter Beth Burger at 422-6726 or at bburger@wisconsinrapids.gannett.com
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