Do you attend lots of meetings? You get a notice that you should attend a meeting that begins at 8:00 am. After everyone stands around getting coffee and sharing what they saw on television the night before, the meeting finally begins at 8:22 am. My favorite quote: “I have wasted so much time being on time for meetings.” There is one group that rents training space in the Grant County Conference Center quite often. If the trainer tells everyone the training begins at 10:00 am, the door is locked a little after 10:00 am and people who are late don’t get to attend the meeting until there is a break.

Have you ever volunteered to work on a project, and someone takes a short-cut and the end result comes out badly? When the person is questioned why they took the short-cut, the answer was to save time. So, here is my favorite quote from famous basketball coach John Wooden – “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

These days, you hear the terms sustainability and collaboration an awful lot. Truly, it is nice when we can bring several groups together to work on an issue and achieve a common goal. Unfortunately, there are times when territorialism creeps into the agenda. There’s the question of who is the lead group in the equation. Well this is a quote I have always liked and I believe it came originally from President Harry S. Truman – “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

When I lived in Louisiana, the city was looking for a new economic development director. There was a really talented young man that applied for the job. However, he wasn’t even invited for an interview. This young man was one of the smartest individuals I had ever met in the field of economic development. When I asked the Mayor why they refused to interview him, I was surprised to learn that he had been culled simply because he didn’t have a four-year degree. The young man had credentials… he had earned certifications… he had strived to educate himself in what some would say might be unconventional ways. He had the wisdom to know the importance of learning. In this instance my favorite quote goes like this – “Educating yourself does not mean you are stupid in the first place; it means you are intelligent enough to know that there is plenty left to learn.”

We want to welcome a new member to the Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN is a not-for-profit organization that promotes excellence in care and development of young children. Some of the issues they find important are:
• Addressing economic need in Grant County to keep child care centers up and running for working families.
• Support resources necessary to operate a profitable business offering high quality programs. The include Full Enrollment; Back Office Business Practices; and Early Childhood Education training opportunities.
This local organization is the State Model: Building Partnerships for Children: Learning Communities and Support for Early Childhood Education in Rural New Mexico.

Currently, Community Partnership For Children is reaching out to find individuals interested in beginning an Early Childhood career through becoming a substitute to work across the child care centers AND they are willing to support individuals building Family Child Care Centers as a business.

For more information, call (575) 590-2499 or visit www.grantcountycpc.com.

If you want to contact the Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce, call 575-538-3785.