March 2021- Commissioner's Corner

Change is Hard

Change can be a difficult thing to embrace.  One comes to a crossroad of either staying with the easier path of the status quo or the challenge of change that then mandates the necessary efforts to forge for better future outcomes.  When a change is made it requires extra attention and effort, new thought patterns are required to re-enforce the newly incorporated ideas, plans and agendas.  

Person county is at such a crossroad.  Embrace real change or stay the same?  It is not easy to leave the arena of comfort in search of new and better methods, but I believe in order to have a shot at making Person county stronger financially as well as a more vibrant place to live we all need to embrace change.  We need to seek it out.

Thankfully we have access to a wealth of knowledge and information we didn't have 10-15 years ago.  We have lifelong residents to share the history and we have transplanted residents who bring new perspectives and ideas to share that can help Person County transform from rural poor to rural prosperous.

For over 10 years I sat on the sidelines and watched our county leadership, trying to learn and understand why things never seemed to change or improve.  Now as a newly elected Commissioner I see those same challenges only more magnified. Many of the issues I identified 10 years ago are still at the forefront.  No growth, no opportunity seems to be the mantra of Person County.  Personal pride in our community is low.

There is a famous adjudge that states “if you keep doing the same things over and over again and expect a different result it’s called insanity”.  We can begin to change this cycle, but it will require everyone to look beyond themselves.  Put aside personal grudges, resentment, grievances, hard feelings and bitterness and open up to every possibility.  Just be open to consider what could be possible if we looked around every corner and under every rock for an idea that could move us forward to better prosperity.  Show me how something can be achieved, not why it can’t be done.   Nothing should be off the table except for insanity.

As one of your newest Commissioners I will continue to do all I am capable of by pointing us to better ideas and better solutions.  I will keep the public informed about the progress of a newly formed Task Force assigned the specific task of looking for structural funding methods to strengthen our Economic Development efforts.  This will take some time, but the goal is to have a program that can be implemented this year to ramp up our efforts.

Thank you for your support, I am at your service.

      PJ Gentry

      County Commissioner