Guest Blogger: Melissa Badger, Community & School Relations
Kudos to the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce for an absolutely spectacular dinner event last week! I have to admit, I’m not much of a trekkie, but the Star Trek theme was undeniably ingenious and irresistibly fun. That kind of creativity, along with the obvious appreciation guests had for others, and the motivation to keep reinventing our image are all reasons our community is the vibrant place to learn, work, live and play that it is.
Dr. Scott Bierman, Beloit College President, gave the keynote speech, and one key message he kept returning to stuck with me: partnerships. Beloit has always been a huge supporter of Beloit College, as well as for our schools. Dr. Bierman, you were absolutely right in quoting a wise proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Our students need to feel valued and an important part of this whole community – from their families, to city residents, to the businesses and organizations that run this fine city.
I can say with strong certainty that Beloit does care! I have the honor of being part of several community committees such as Visit Beloit, United Way, and the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation Business-Education Partnership. The amazing activities going on from Lunch-N-Learn and First Impressions to grants that provide the extras that enhance the educational process for our students, and individual acts of goodwill being done every day are such very important contributions to our students.
Of course, our staff and students are excited to take part in opportunities to give back to the community as well: Pennies for Patients, food drives for Caritas, environmental stewardship, volunteerism in city events, and support for United Way….I’m proud of these efforts, and know we’re working with families on preparing another generation of community leaders with vision to keep driving our city towards even more success while caring for others.
This all confirms what I’ve learned through years of kindness from family, schools and this wonderful city I’ve grown up in: relationships are what truly matter. We’ll do our best to live up to the trust given to us by families to help them teach their children by maintaining those relationships and striving to continuously improve.
As noted last night, you can only coast by going downhill. With our strategic planning, research, and cycles of important staff professional development, we plan to keep in step with fellow organizations to keep moving in a positive direction.
