I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I don’t “do” New Year’s Resolutions.
It’s not something I subscribe to or believe is worth investing too much thought in.
That said, I do sometimes give myself little mental challenges to goals to strive toward.
But, even then, those aren’t very run-of-the-mill or similar to most other people’s objectives.
These tiny aims are more for expanding my awareness and comfort zone.
A prime example is finding something that’s normally outside my normal sphere of activities or interactions.
After all, this job requires me to attend and cover events that might not necessarily be something I’m interested in, but the information could educate, enlighten, or entertain our readers.
Oftentimes, I’m motivated the same way, so I still count those experiences as a “win”.
Still, this year, I told myself that I would participate in something out of my usual work scope or personal life to challenge myself.
The past few years I had a similar goal in mind and expressed that desire by volunteering on the Tourism Advisory Board/Council.
I’ve always felt that Bay City and Matagorda County deserved thoughtful tourism promotion and solid commitments to tourists, hoteliers, and attractions that our county had to offer.
Before being appointed to that board by city council years ago, I’d covered those meetings from a purely journalistic standpoint.
I’ve seen the board and tourism department’s focus degrading firsthand – and it’s disheartening to say the least.
While I applaud the effort it took to get those awards and recognitions, those accolades will mean nothing if local needs aren’t met and underlying issues aren’t addressed.
Several tourism projects over the years have been shelved and/or conveniently forgotten about.
The entire time I’ve sat on that council, we were told year after year that a dedicated tourism director would be sought during budget season.
So far, that hasn’t happened, yet, changes are being made to the council’s structure and tourism is not receiving the full attention that it deserves in order to be competitive and marketed well.
As much as I’ve reminded the powers that be about these issues, I’ve been ignored and brushed off.
To be honest, it seems to be a continuous theme and it only makes things look worse on the outside.
When I applied to be reappointed to the council, I was denied.
So, now I’m just going back to covering those meetings from a work perspective and I don’t have a lot of hope for it to continue.
But, hey, maybe that’s the goal – pad a board with “yes” men and women rather than having someone who asks the hard questions and wants accountability.
Either way, it’s freed me up to find somewhere else to volunteer my time, so that’s what I’m looking for now.
My search is definitely centered on finding a group that sees my experience and skill as an asset rather than a perceived obstacle.
After all, I’ve got over a decade’s worth of networking, communications, marketing, and insight to offer – and this is now my goal for the year, so we’ll see where I find myself.
It’s time for a new personal challenge for 2026!