February 2024 Chair's Column

What’s up?

February is a dynamic month in my opinion. For one, it’s the shortest month of the year. It’s also the last month of winter for those of us who live in Savannah. We celebrate and honor Black History Month. February houses the holiday that no one really loves to celebrate - Valentine’s Day. It also brings about everyone’s favorite holiday of the year - Groundhog Day, of course.

And speaking of Groundhog Day, who has seen the movie? It’s one of my favorites and there’s a few principles from the script that we as economic developers could borrow. This industry can sometimes feel like deja-vu. We work a project, it’s not a fit. We start again with the next and the pattern can look pretty similar until we find the right match. We attend many of the same events and conferences year after year. And we go into them with preconceived expectations – this event, this year, this project, this lunch meeting is going to be great.

Well, I have a challenge for us all in 2024. What if we went into every project, every site visit, every conference, every meeting, every day with a fresh perspective? Optimistic to see what lies ahead and ready for whatever unexpected next step might take place. What if we left behind our “done this already” thoughts in 2023 and came ready and excited for every aspect of the job this year?

Our communities would surely see a positive result from that way of thinking as well as our day-to-day routines. Besides, Phil doesn’t pop out of his burrow every year and proclaim “Same as last year - Winter!” Every year on February 2, we anxiously anticipate if he will see his shadow with hope that spring is near (and now I’m wondering why we rely on a burrowing little mammal to predict what our weather will entail for the rest of Q1 to begin with.)

Anyways, let’s hit the ground running, continue learning and come to work ready to tackle something new.

Go watch the movie. 

Trip Tollison