Mayor looking for citizens to get involved
Dear editor and citizens of Rockdale, Growing up all I wanted to do was play baseball. My favorite thing to do was to play catch. It was the smell of the grass throwing grounders that stuck to the ball. The dirt that would stick to my fingers after the ball bounced into my glove.
It was fun, and when I could not play baseball, I was playing with my baseball cards, trading with friends, putting my favorite cards in a notebook. I lived and breathed baseball. So much so I remember mornings when my mom would scream at me, wake up and I’d I still have my glove on.
I was the Sandlot Kid. That movie is still one of my all-time favorites and still to this day I enjoy a mouthful of Big Chew. The taste just brings me back to being a kid again.
When I was running for mayor I sent several letters to the newspaper and one of them was called “Field of Dreams.”
The past week I have had a ton of emotions run through me and it got me to thinking why did I sign up to be a mayor?
So here it goes. I signed up to be the mayor because for the past four years every day when I’m in the pit room trimming meat, I’d face city hall. Not a day would go by that a customer would not talk about an issue that was ongoing. My favorite part about cooking food for people is getting to talk to them and getting to know them while they are standing in line waiting to order.
You see life for me has come full circle because the friends that I hang out with, that have my back, that are in my circle are all folks that I have met in line or at a picnic table over the last four years, they are from Rockdale or have moved here over the years.
But it leads me back to “why mayor”? It’s all those conversations that I had with concerned citizens.
The deadline to sign up for mayor was on a Friday at 5 p.m. No one else had signed up to volunteer to run. I waited all day in the pit room looking over at city hall and 15 minutes to 5 p.m. of the deadline, I nervously walked over and said I want to sign up to run for mayor.
I didn’t tell anyone, because I wasn’t 100% sure. I had never put myself in a position like that before. I was scared, nervous and full of anxiety.
And guess what? I still am! I’m human, I’m new to this, I’m learning, but what I can tell you is what I’m doing. I’m having those conversations daily that concerned citizens had with me over the years while waiting in line or popping in the pit room to say hi.
Almost a month had passed, and I was at a little league baseball game watching a friend’s son play. When I got there, I was in shock that the fields looked like a sandlot, the grass was dead and the fields needed lots of love.
After the game I had gotten back into my truck and that’s when it hit me.
I have to be the next mayor. I have to make a difference. I have to help our community. I have a big heart and we need a new heartbeat.
I signed up to volunteer my time to make Rockdale a better place. I signed up to have those conversations. I signed up to be part of the change those customers of mine brought to my attention. I signed up because I believe kids deserve to play ball on green grass.
We have a lot of problems in our small town.
I can’t and the city council can’t fix every issue. We are not the cure-all that everyone thinks we are. But I guarantee you we can have the conversations and we can spark the fires.
I’m currently three months in. I’m not picking fights; I’m focusing on green grass. A safer community for our kids. How do we give these kids more to do after school or on Wednesday when they have early release? How do we tackle the ongoing drug issues? How can we clean up our streets?
I’m pro police. Our police department needs more money to be proactive. It’s coming! Just takes some time. Speaking of the Rockdale Police Department: We are working on a big National Night Out for our community at the Patterson Center. We are going to give out food for free to the community, bring in kid friendly music, giveaways and drawings for kids.
My main focus is kids. Why? They are the future of Rockdale and currently there’s nothing for them to do. I will go to bat for them.
It could be as simple as “Meet me at the Ball Field” every Wednesday and we get volunteers involved. It’s walking distance from the schools. It’s a relatively safe place. It’s an idea I have. But we need lots of ideas. We need folks to get involved in person. Attend our council meetings and attend workshop meetings around town.
I’m just a Sandlot Kid who wants to make a difference. And right now, my batting average stinks. But I’m going to bat every day for Rockdale.
Mayor Brett Boren
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