See the big picture
Rome never disappoints when it comes to supporting a worthwhile cause. Case in point .... this past weekend was the Underground Tours, a fundraiser for the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia. But it was also a voteraiser (for me) for the upcoming Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge.
The tour takes local and area residents to various Broad Street locations and down into their basements to see some of the interesting features that exist down there — many of which were there long before much of Broad Street was raised up to avoid flooding.
Even from the planning stages of the tour, the community stepped up for this event. Mark Cochran of Cevian Design Lab, Kim Davis, the director of the Sexual Assault Center and Tina Brinson, an SAC board member, all jumped in immediately to plan and schedule the event which is a massive undertaking. You’ve got about 500 people WALKING around in groups of about 15 to 20, all along Broad Street on a Saturday from building to building. The tour scheduling alone is a huge task.
They mobilized docents and volunteers. They contacted business owners to help out. The buildings housing Blue Sky Outfitters, The Spires, Johnny’s and The Vogue were the four stops on the tour. The owners of those buildings and the managers of those businesses were so generous. And even though we didn’t use her building this year, Ann Pullen was also willing to allow the use of the basement of Pullen’s Bicycle Shop.
Frios Pops set up a little cart in front of the DeSoto Theatre (our base camp for the event) and gave us a generous portion of the day’s sales.
Automax donated a small bus for us to transport those people who couldn’t do as much walking but still wanted to participate in the tour.
And the volunteers came out of the woodwork to help. People I don’t even know messaged me to say they were volunteering — walking around in the heat or selling popsicles and t-shirts or driving the bus all day — anything that needed doing.
And I’m especially thankful to my Dance Challenge competitors who bought tickets or volunteered — Rusty Williams and Sheriff Tim Burkhalter were also out sweating on the tour but showed up and I am very grateful. I thought Rusty was fixin’ to pass out in the basement of the Spires but he hung in there. Please support those two men in their fundraising efforts if you get the chance.
And I am humbled by the hundreds of people who bought tickets for the tour. It ain’t easy walking in the July heat all over Broad Street and up and down flights of stairs into dark basements but I hope it was worth it to learn some Broad Street history and to see some of the cool things beneath Broad Street that most people never get to experience.
And aside from this one particular event, I have seen so many businesses, individuals and organizations step up to support my competitors and myself.
I feel like this community reaches deep down in its pockets when there’s a need. I love that. I love being part of a city where people help out their neighbors.
We need to continue that. We need to support each other. And it’s not just about supporting nonprofits (even though they do incredibly important work). You can also support the arts. You can support community theatre, live music, the library. You can support local sports.
You can support animal welfare groups. You can support local farmers and local business owners. Support your neighbors.
Y’all know many of my columns poke fun at local life — funny and interesting things about our community — but make no mistake, I love Rome, Georgia and I’m proud to call it home.
So if you’ve ever supported a local endeavor that helps people or animals in this community, even if doesn’t seem like it has an impact on my life, I thank you. Because if it makes Rome or Floyd County a better place (even in the smallest of ways), then it has affected me.
I love it when people see the big picture. I love it when people say “this is good for Rome. This will make our city better in the long run” instead of saying “I don’t play tennis so tennis courts are stupid” or “I don’t have a dog so why would I support a dog park?”
Think big ...and think of each other.