Last Updated on May 31, 2015 by cassnetwork
Dear Members of the Class of 2015 —
Congratulations! You did it!
When you turn your tassel and become a high school graduate, what’s next? Some of you are headed to the military, others are headed to college and others have jobs lined up. Some of you may have no idea what you want to do, and that’s ok, too. You’ll figure it out, and in the meantime, you’ll do all kinds of things that add to your life experiences.
In the next few days, weeks and months, people will congratulate you and wish you luck as you head out into the world to “do big things.” And then, we’ll sit in meetings and wonder what we can do to get more people like you to come back to Cass County after they leave.
It’s not a problem that’s unique to our community — the grass is always greener somewhere else and communities all over the state, country and even the world face the same challenges of trying to figure out how to get the next generation back.
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that “there aren’t any jobs here.” Granted, we aren’t landing a large factory every three months — or even every three years — and we do need some new investment. But there are jobs here. There are jobs for teachers. There are jobs for firefighters and police and EMTs. There are jobs for doctors and nurses and dentists and lawyers and many others. We’ll always need people to run for elected offices. And there are a growing number of people in our community who’ve made their own jobs — not just recently, but look at our retail businesses, our restaurants and even some of our factories.
Over the last four (and maybe more) years, you’ve made investments in our community as well. Maybe you volunteered at a local event, like Live United Day or the Taste of Cass County. Maybe you worked a part-time job. Maybe you contributed to the local entertainment options — whether on stage or at an athletic event.
That doesn’t have to end. Maybe one day you’ll open a business, direct a show at McHale PAC, be a United Way campaign chair or bring back the Iron Horse Festival. We need creative, innovative people who care about this community to be a part of it, so don’t let anyone convince you that you have to leave, or that you can’t come back here, to “do big things.”
This week, you’ll become a member of a new group — alumni of Cass County’s high schools.
Welcome to the family. Come home any time!
Michelle Dials
Publisher, Cass County Communication Network
Logansport HS, Class of 1997
P.S. Share a graduation photo our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/casscountyonline) and we’ll add it to our Class of 2015 photo gallery!