It's no accident that Governor Snyder's delivery of the State of the State address today coincides with this week's writings by Nancy Short, deputy manager of appointments in the Office of Governor Snyder. Nancy will be discussing how the administration will translate the outcomes of Michigan's Community Conversations into action, as well as distinct new opportunities on the horizon.
Post 4: From Ten Thousand Voices to Ten Million Voices
Posted By: Nancy Short
Posted: 1/22/2011
The State of the State wasn't just about what the Executive Branch must and will do or what the Legislative Branch must do, it also was about what the people of Michigan must do. The reinvention of Michigan can't be left to just the government.
There are tasks for all of us to play – the Executive Branch, the Legislature, and the citizens. We must be active participants. The people across this state have asked for an opportunity and this is it – our chance as a collective citizenry to face challenges head-on and prepare the state for our futures and those of the next generation. What really matters in public service is the legacy that we leave behind. We've done it before and we can do it again; remember, we showed the world how to make baby food, breakfast cereal, automobiles and pharmaceuticals; we were the arsenal of democracy; we have abundant natural resources and shorelines that stretch longer than any other state in the continental U.S. We can indeed succeed.
Think about your individual and collective legacy, how you will be measured as a public servant. Now is a time unlike any other, to shape our great state, and you can be instrumental in it.
As you think about your role in the future of our great state, I leave you with the closing words of Governor Snyder from Wednesday night:
"Let us each recommit our time, our talents, our passion to ourselves and the state we love. Together we can build a new Michigan for the new century. We can make the old unbelievable and the new achievable. And we can make the improbable the new exciting reality for our children and theirs...
We can and indeed we must begin right now to build a Michigan where the next generation has the chance to live, to work, to play, to prosper...
So let's roll up our shirtsleeves and get to work."
We can make the seemingly impossible possible. We can be extraordinary, together, in the reinvention. Select your destiny, and that of your state, and go after it!
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the official views of the Office of Governor Rick Snyder.