'Keep Swinging' is Good Advice

Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of attending the Chamber’s Annual Breakfast Meeting at the Civic Center. It was an informative and entertaining blend of speakers and workshops as well as a delightful introduction to incoming chairperson Glenda Thornton.

Set against the unignorable backdrop of collapsing economic conditions across the globe, the tone of the meeting was realistic, but upbeat and optimistic. Thornton quoted childhood hero and former home run king Hank Aaron who said that no matter the conditions, the only way to move forward is to “keep swinging.” It is solid advice, especially since the alternative is to hide in the dugout.

And if your wish was to hide, yesterday’s breakfast was the wrong place to be. The Chamber was expecting 400, and they were setting up extra tables to handle the overflow. There was excitement in the air that would seem ridiculous given the current environment if not for the reality that the business leaders in this community are not ready to give up. In fact, it appears that there has never been a better time to network, share ideas and learn more about each other.

When times are tough, it is important to get back to basics, and there is nothing more basic than a handshake, a smile and scrambled eggs.

Speaking of networking, I experienced my first large gathering since being sucked into the Facebook vortex. I was greeted by a number of acquaintances and colleagues in a manner that was much more familiar than would have occurred pre-online connection. It remains an interesting concept to me that people you don’t talk to with your voice can know so much about you. In events like the Chamber meeting, it allows a warmer hello and a skipping of the default “what have you been up to” questions.

It reminds me of my time as editor of Tallahassee Magazine in the early ‘90s. I would often write about my children and things going on in my life, and people I barely knew would ask me how they were doing or how something worked out. Now, everyone can do that through online networking, or even more so with a business or personal blog.

Blogs are actually what I wanted to talk about this week, but I somehow got off course, so it will have to wait. But as a preview, you will notice some new categories in the right sidebar column. I am convinced that there are a lot of really cool blogs in this town that not enough people are reading. I would love your help in finding and sharing them.

Again, more on that next week, but in the meantime, feel free to forward me the URLs of any local blogs you like – or write – and I will include them on this page. I think there is great potential in this and I am excited to share my ideas.

I can sense your anticipation.