Union - S.W.O.T. Analysis

Have you ever been invited to a meeting with a vague topic and no idea of who else was going to be there?  Like, you literally are wondering to yourself the whole time if they got the right phone number or email address when you were sent the invite?  That was the case for me the other day.  I want to share a little about the meeting and discussions (hopefully that will be allowed or I may not be invited back) and more about what's really driving us.

I was invited to a planning meeting for Union County.  I may have the official name wrong but that was the topic.  This was not a specific board or group.  There were people from many different fields - government, education, medical, business, faith-based, and I'm probably leaving some out.  Now you see why I was somewhat anxious about the meeting - this was not the kiddie table.

The primary topics were Opportunities and Threats facing Union County - essentially the 'goods' and 'bads' that we could stand to improve upon.

Some of the 'Goods' that we have going for us in Union:

• Industry - No, we are not the 85 corridor.  But we are not far from it drive-time wise when you start looking at transportation for big businesses.  Not to mention, the cost of land and labor is cheaper in Union than surrounding counties.  And there are plenty of jobs available in Union right now.  If you are semi-qualified and willing to work, you can find a pretty darn good job right now.
• Library - Our library has received several big time awards recently.  The remodel that was completed about a year ago looks amazing and it is an asset to our community.
• Colleges - SCC and USC-U - I think we have failed to communicate the opportunity for scholarships that are available to Union County students attending one of these schools.  They are each different but both offer AMAZING values for the education and training that you receive.  These two schools continue to evolve and transform to keep pace with the demands of markets around them.

Now for some of the 'Bads' that we are facing:

• Drugs - Yes, Union has a drug problem.  But do does Spartanburg, Greenville, Columbia, South Carolina, and the rest of America.  Drugs are a national headline and are not isolated to our hometown.  There are many different thoughts and opinions on how to address the issue but ultimately, it comes down to until the addict wants to quit as bad as they want to get that feeling of a high, it won't happen. The road to recovery is very hard and challenging.  A secret weapon that I think will have the most impact here is prayer.
• Educational Challenges - When my wife and I were expecting our first child, I was scared to death to know that I would now be responsible for another person's life.  And while preparing for his birth, I read that a child's brain develops nearly 85% by age 3.  THREE y'all.  Most children aren't even in school by then so 85% of a child's brain development happens before they ever make it to public school (who too many are blaming for education issues).  I took that at motivation to read to my child(ren) daily. 
• This is where drugs come in - drug use by pregnant mothers can cause learning challenges in children.  They look 'normal' act 'normal' but due to chemical imbalances, they struggle to connect the dots sometimes.  I'm not by any means trying to insensitive here but this point alone would get very deep to be fully explained.
• We have also now developed a culture that does not value education.  This was the second time in the past couple months that I've had this brought up.  Parents or guardians who survived life with minimal education and minimal skills expect that their children will be able to do the same.  Some can, but it takes a heck of a lot of hard work and heck of a lot of determination to do it in today's world.  Information and technology systems are changing the world we live in today and the education and knowledge requirements of people to survive is no longer what it was 10, 15, or 20 years ago.
• Fear / Complacency / Resistance to Change - Each of these is different in some respects but I believe they are each related.  Few people like change, but you can NOT improve without it.  Change is scary though so too often we prefer to stay comfortable, stick to reading the same stories, walking the same paths, doing the same activities, and then wonder why things aren't getting better.  Before we change Union, people in Union need to wake up and start improving themselves.  Our town, like any other, is the sum of its residents.

Now, to get into some of the meat of how some of this may happen, why it hasn't, how it's going to feel to do it, and possibly step on some toes while doing so.  

One topic that was mentioned from multiple tables and multiple times was territorialism, a lack of sense of community, and the forgotten and pushed aside feeling that many of our rural municipalities feel.  Put your steel toes on for this one.  I sat and listened while Union was mentioned, followed by Lockhart, Carlisle, and Jonesville in no particular order.  Each had a representative of some form invited and present for the meeting.  I sat quietly because I knew I needed to process my bias because you see, I live in Buffalo.  Nothing was mentioned about Buffalo.  I'm not complaining.  I'm just pointing out that everybody is territorial by nature - we all protect our home first.  Greatness and advancement will be accomplished when we begin to realize that if a housing development is built 10 miles up the road, I may be benefit from shops, restaurants, or other businesses here.  The mentality has got to shift to one that believes "when the tide rises, all boats float."

Each of these rural areas have needs and face various challenges like communication and infrastructure.  But one things to take note of is that Union is a rural county overall.  I love that about it though.  I don't want Union to be a Greenville.  I'm a small town guy.  If you want a big city life, go live in a big city.  That's cool if it's what you want.  Busy highways, interstates, are nice until you get stuck on one in bumper to bumper traffic.

So why isn't change happening and what will it take to do make it?  Simply put, a culture shift.  We have to got to stop being so inwardly negative about our own hometown.  Stop putting Union down to family, friends, visitors, and strangers.  Is it perfect?  No.  Will it ever be?  No.  But if you can only focus on the negatives, that's where you will lean to.  

I'm not saying to ignore problems and real issues, but I can assure you that very few major problems are going to get solved on social media.  If all you can do is point out problems without offering a solution, you need to do some more thinking (y'all don't want to know how many things I stay quiet on because I don't have time to come up with a solution).  And how about following a better outline for questioning someone - if there's an issue with a person, go to that person.  If they don't listen, take a witness.  If they still don't listen, take a larger group.  (Matthew 18:15-17)

Union can be great.  What our greatness looks like - well, that's what some business owners, faith leaders, government officials, community volunteers, education workers, and others are trying to determine.  But it's not all going to feel good.  Somebody is going to have to compromise, somebody is going to have spend some money, somebody is going to have to do some work, and somebody is most likely going to have to swallow their pride and look their neighbor in the eye and say, "You know what, you were right and that's a great idea!"  We are a small town and we must work together through various partnerships in order to achieve economies of scale to pull off some of the projects that it will take to make Union greater!

Acknowledge the threat and accomplish the opportunity.  Are you in or out?