Lowering the Bar

Can we, for once, insist on excellence?

I went to the State of the Town in Speedway the other day, and I could swear some of the speakers were apologizing for it. I'm still trying to figure out why someone would apologize for the state of Speedway. What was once a deserted alley next to industrial property now rivals Broad Ripple Ave., Mass Ave., and Fountain Square with respect to having something to do in the community.

It used to be that if you wanted to go out for dinner and a drink in Speedway, you were more or less relegated to Dawson's or McGilvery's. Please know, I have nothing but positive things to say about both of those places. However, I would assert that having a dozen options now is better than having the 2 options from a few years ago. This is not something for which to apologize.

I was moderately impressed with Ken Hull. I'm a former teacher, so education policy is near and dear to the heart. The Superintendent should talk less about test scores and more about his educational vision. What is it that Speedway H.S. is all about? For the mathematically inclined, I would suggest engineering. For those who are into English, marketing seems apt. I could go on. My point is that Speedway schools are excellent, among the very best schools in Marion County. This is something to be proud of; we need not apologize for it.

I propose a revolution of competence in our community and our country. I don't care how you incorporate your faith into your job or, frankly, what your faith is. I don't necessarily even care which party you come from. If you are a local official, I really don't care about your position on abortion or foreign policy. I want you to be good at your job.

Here in Speedway, that means that I want you to continue working on economic development. The old college try isn't good enough either; I want results. I want you to effectively reach out to IMS and Allison Transmission. Those are the two biggest businesses in Speedway and anchor each end of Main St. Pray tell, why do we only reach out to them when we want money? Why are we not partnering with them? For example, does Speedway H.S. have a partnership w/ them? I mentioned marketing and engineering above. IMS does a lot of marketing; the teams that race there, as well as Allison, do a lot of engineering. Do we have a summer jobs program? An "exploratory employment" program?

Please direct my attention to another town of 12,000 that has a world-famous event such as the Indianapolis 500 (IMS). Please direct my attention to another town of 12,000 that is home to a corporation that employs thousands globally. That our town officials don't leverage this is a tragic wasted opportunity.

Competency.

Please.