- Civic leadership starts with civic engagement. Vote. Pay attention. Know who is in office. Know how that vacant parcel of land in your neighborhood is slated to develop. Attend a City Council meeting now and then. Model civic engagement for your children. Participate in ways large and small.
- Learn more about our community…how it started…where Clovis Cole’s first ranch was located…and make sure your neighbors know, as well. Preserving our traditions is an important part of civic leadership today. In your community, just like in your family, past is prologue – history and traditions help us forge a more successful future.
- To whom much is given, much is expected. Choose one thing to do…one way to make a difference in your neighborhood, at your children’s school, in our city. There is much to be done…if everyone who was able just did ONE thing, think of all that might be possible! If not you…who? There is a distinct difference between public opinion, political will and “civic will.” Elected officials come and go…but civic leaders are a constant. Deciding to ACT as a “citizen” means we are the cause of our environment…not the effect of it. Civic engagement is not a spectator sport.
- Act on what matters to you…not just what sustains the status quo.
- There is a fundamental difference between service and self-interest. Choose to be a steward of our community. Be present where you are today. Be aware of the distinction between ambition and civic leadership …and wary of those seeking office as a “stepping stone” who do not know or respect the difference. The decisions you get are vastly different.
- Ships in harbors are safe…but that is not what ships were made for. Leadership would be safe if our community only faced problems for which we knew the solutions.
- Consider the whole. Single-issue or partisan advocacy often oversimplifies complex public policy problems…and community issues are rarely simple and are always linked to something else. Focus on solving problems rather than blocking others from implementing their solutions.
- A rising tide lifts all boats. Clovis is not an island or “walled city” immune from the issues of surrounding communities. Stand for efforts that help our region succeed.
