The City of Jasper, Indiana

We hear from many of our citizens they want Jasper to stay just the way it is.  When I ask questions to better understand their statements, they usually say:

1. “Jasper is a safe place to raise my family.”
2. “Jasper is a community where my friends live.”
3. “Jasper is a clean, well-kept community.”
4. “Jasper is a community rich in religion, culture and values.”
5. “Jasper is a very competitive community.”
6. “Jasper is a community where people work hard and play hard.”

Jasper is all those things and more!  We have been fortunate over the years to have people in our community who have valued innovating or recreating themselves and/or their organizations.  “To hold on to the things we value about our community, we can’t continue doing things the way we’ve always done them.”  We must stay focused on what’s important to us.  We need to innovate; use old technologies in new ways, improve processes and collaboration to preserve what we value in our community. 

Can you imagine what it would be like in our community if our forefathers hadn’t stayed current with new methods and technology?  They weren’t willing to slide backwards as a community with tightly held values and thus challenged themselves and their businesses to innovate and prepare for the future.  It wasn’t easy but it was necessary.

If we continue to do things the way we’ve always done them, we will place at risk what we value in our community presently.  Our future can only support our current values of our community if we strive to innovate and move forward proactively.  Innovation is an exciting activity that will help us hold on to what we as an individual and community value.  How have you embraced, driven and deployed innovation recently in your personal life, church, volunteer organizations you belong to, or at your place of work?

Thank you,
Mayor Dean Vonderheide