Telling Our Story

With all the news we hear today, news of Mississippi placing last in this poll and at the bottom of that list, there are still a few things we have in Miss’ippi that others have forgotten or just never had to begin with.

When I was a young boy growing up in the Mississippi Delta, I used to love our family gatherings. I could sit and listen for hours to my father and grandfather, uncles and cousins all telling story after story (and probably lie after lie) about the good ol’ days and how they used to do things. About how they faced the roughest and toughest opponents on the football field and baseball diamond, about the times they outsmarted the law and their parents and about how they would sneak out of town to the “all girls” college to steal a dance with an older redhead (my grandmother).

I think I know now that much of what they remembered as fact has been exaggerated and forgotten and replaced with little white lies to enhance the appeal and create really good stories to entertain wild-eyed little boys that were hanging on every word. As a boy these stories were more entertaining than any TV show. They added to the character of each of my family members.

It is hard for me to look at any one of my family members today without thinking of at least one story to go along with each of them (and I usually have two or three to choose from). As many times as I have heard those stories told and re-told, I can probably tell them just about as good as or better than their authors.

The thing that makes each of those stories stick way back in the back of my mind somewhere is that they were memorable. I could relate to them. I could visualize them. I could find myself lost in teller's world.

I love the part of my job when I get to travel. I especially like it when I am exposed to people who aren't familiar with what I do, with Jones County and especially with Mississippi.

Recently I was on a trip talking to two of my counterparts from Boston, Massachusetts. They were on their first trip to the South. A little bit of shyness, a little bit scared and a whole lot of culture shock had set in. They had their stereotypical mindsets about what the South would be like and especially those of us from Mississippi.

Once we got past the usual, "Yes, we have running water" and "Yes, we wear shoes", we finally got down to business. They asked me what I do for Jones County. I started to rattle off my usual response, "I am the Chamber of Commerce Director for the Jones County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority of Jones County".

I thought about it for a split second. I could have said that. It would have told them my title. They would have known exactly my position, but my answer wouldn't have resolved the question, what do I DO for Jones County.  So without thinking about it, I responded, "I'm a professional storyteller".

Immediately they wanted to know more.

The thing we do better than anyone else, and I venture to say better than anyone in the South is telling our story. Mississippi has more Musicians, Authors, Poets and Artists per capita than any other place in the world. We are known worldwide in just about every category for our storytellers who are masters in their respective fields.

I by no means am a great storyteller, but I do enjoy sharing our Jones County heritage with those local and abroad. I like to paint a different picture of Mississippi. I like to get people excited about coming here. I like to tell our story.

We say it on just about every project we work in economic development, "If we can only get them here, they'll never want to leave". Several companies are testaments to this statement. Several of you have never wanted to be anywhere else, and it shows.

In whatever business or industry you’re in, I encourage you to do your part in telling our story. Don’t only tell our story to those who aren’t from here. Tell it to those who have lived here all their lives. Tell it to those who have forgotten the magic and beauty of this place we call Mississippi and the place we love to call home.

The best stories are the ones we love to tell over and over again and they never grow old.

In addition to telling our story, if you’d like to see our story in pictures, the Chamber of Commerce has set up a Pinterest page to help share our heritage, keep visitors up to date with events and what to do while they are here. I encourage you to go to http://pinterest.com/jonescountyms and follow our pins! 

Happy Pinning and happy storytelling!

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* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, July 29, 2012 issue

of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.

The Thinker and the Thank-er

“Think all you speak, but speak not all you think.”

~ unknown 

I had a unique experience a couple of days ago. I don't want to call anyone out in our community but I was having some work done on my wife's car. On all of our cars we have our "Chamber license plates" that have the logo and our tag line "Now This Is Living". As I pulled her car into the bay the mechanic took one look at the tag and read it out loud, "Jones County, Now This Is Living?!" He said, "Who told you that lie?"

I was taken aback and was left almost speechless (but you know me and that doesn't happen often). I quickly told him who I was, what I did and started unloading on him all the great assets we have in our community and why anyone should be thrilled to live in Jones County. I doubt that I changed his mind, but perhaps the next time he gets ready to question our community to a customer he will think about our encounter.

This confrontation reminded me of a message given by a motivational speaker friend of mind that I recently got the chance to hear. I can't remember exactly what he was presenting on that day but the quote that caught me was when he was talking about teamwork, he was using a scenario to address that each member on a team is important and valuable to the success of the entire team. He said, "It's kind of like the rooster taking credit for the dawn". The rooster did his job and did it well, but it wasn't his crowing that caused the sun to rise. It was because the sun rose that he was able to do his job.

My friend went on to use this metaphor to display that as leaders we often look at the overall success or failure of the team and either rejoice or revamp. Sometimes what we should be doing is looking at those opportunities, those people, and those situations that allow us to do our jobs. We should be thankful for those moments of change throughout our day that allows us to be successful in our mission.

As leaders in our community, our organizations and our homes often times we THINK we know what we should be doing and we THINK about ways to make our presentations and our dealings better. Often times what we forget to do is take the time to THANK those around us. Take time to THANK each member on our team for their part in the organization’s success. Perhaps we should THANK more than we THINK.

I am very thankful for each opportunity we have to share the benefits of living in South Mississippi and in Jones County. I am thankful for chances to tell of the great successes and heritage in Jones County. I am even thankful when people question us about why they should be members of the Chamber. All of these things help me remember why I love to do this job.

One final charge of instruction my friend left me with during his speech was this, "If all else fails, build a bridge and get over it!"

Larkin

Parachutes, Pessimists and Parrot Heads!

A man wanted to learn to parachute so he took instruction. The instructor said, "When we get at the right spot, I'll tell you when to jump and if you are afraid, I’ll push you. Now remember this, all you have to do is count to ten slowly, then pull the ripcord and the chute will open and you will gently float to the ground. If by chance the chute doesn't open, don't panic. Just pull the emergency cord and the chute will open and you will gently float to the ground. Then there will be a truck there to pick you up and bring you back to the airport."

So they went up for his first jump. At the right spot, out he went. He counted to ten and pulled his ripcord. The chute didn't open, but he didn't panic. He calmly reached up and pulled the emergency cord. Again, the chute didn't open. Then the man thought to himself, "With my luck I bet the truck won't be there either."

Isn't it amazing how we immediately want to look on the negative side of things?

I recently had an opportunity to do just that. It was a Monday. (We all know what a curse Monday's are). I spent the morning in the dentist chair after a weekend of pain from two different teeth. In addition, the transmission of my car went out and I was stranded on the side of the road. (Luckily several friends stopped by and offered help).

It was a perfect opportunity for me to get down, for me to think the worst and for me to mentally ruin the rest of my week.  For some reason that didn't happen. There is a Jimmy Buffett song that popped in my head. I kept focusing on the lyrics of the song and knew everything would work out. I knew that it was just a car. No one was hurt. No one was injured. It's just a car.

The Buffet song is called "Breathe In, Breathe Out". The song was written to highlight the resilience of our gulf coast communities, their people and their heritage after years and years of being ravaged by hurricanes and in the aftermath of the coast's worst hurricane in recorded history, Katrina.

The lyrics of the song say, "According to my watch the time is now, the past is dead and gone, don't try to shake it just nod your head, Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On”.

What I take away from these lyrics and what I was specifically thinking about as I was sitting on the side of the road, no matter what is taking place in our lives, whether good or bad, the time is now. To be cliché, we must seize the opportunity to live life in the moment. Embrace the hard times to realize the learning opportunities. Embrace the good times to be able to relish the memories over and over in times of despair.

I had never blown a transmission, not that I was looking forward to the opportunity. But I learned some new things about cars. I learned who my friends were. I knew which ones I could call to help me push my car off the road. I learned how a chance encounter of meeting the brother of a fellow fire fighter who owned a tow company would help me out and give us the opportunity to share stories about our kids and our perspective on the fire service as I had my car towed to the shop. I learned how the generosity of others and common life problems would open doors, (and thankfully their rolodex), which would help me understand what was going on with my car without breaking the bank.

This opportunity gave me a unique perspective of my job and how important networking is to what we do. Not only is networking important to my job as Chamber Director, I think it is important to all of our businesses, our personal lives, our careers and our futures.

“My watch says the time is now, the past is dead and gone, don't try to shake it, just nod your head... Breathe in, Breathe Out, Move On.”

I’d love to hear your feedback. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, stop by our website or shoot me an email.

Larkin

The story at the beginning of this article is from Paul W. Powell's book "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Retirement".

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* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, July 8, 2012 issue

of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.

You Ain't No Kinda Man Unless You've Got Land!

“Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”

~ James Allen

I've never prided myself on being a good student. However, one thing I always remembered from school is that if something is repeated multiple times you should pay attention. It usually means it is probably important and most likely will show up again on a test. Luckily I don't have to take tests anymore but I, like you, am tested every day in my life and in work.

Recently the thing that has been recurring to me is a sense of belonging and the thought of having pride in where you are. The idea first appeared to me a few weeks ago when I caught an airing of one of my favourite Mississippi films, Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

(I should interject that many Mississippians don't like the film because of the negative light our State is portrayed in, in the movie. While I don't agree with all the "artistic licenses" taken in the film, our state and our people received very high accolades from the actors, crew and others close to the film for our hospitality and southern way of life. Very much like those received from The Help.)

In one scene, while gathered around a campfire, the three lost souls freshly liberated from a Parchman work crew are discussing what they will do with their share of a hijacked million dollars. Delmar O'Donnell, played by Tim Blake Nelson, exclaims he is going to buy back the family farm. He beautifully sums up the sentiment by saying, "You ain't no kinda man unless you've got land".

In addition to catching the film on TV, my preacher and I must share the same taste in movies because he brought this same message from the pulpit. "You ain't no kinda man unless you've got land". Mike was bringing the message from a spiritual perspective rather than physical, stating that unless we have a strong foundation in our faith and a firm grasp on religion, we will never "belong" anywhere. The physical tie to land is a human emotion but the spiritual tie to our foundation is what keeps us firmly rooted and grounded.

The third instance of this trilogy of "belonging" embraced me last week at I attended my second year of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's prestigious Institute for Organizational Management in Athens, Georgia. (I am in my second year of a four year certification program to become an IOM Chamber Executive.)

The message there was again rooted in a notion of belonging. Stating that we can all do a J.O.B. but what we as Chamber Executives do is create a unique opportunity for our volunteers to paint their story with a broad brush. To craft a message for the spirit of a town and a community that invites others to come, live, work, play, grow a family, build a legacy, and experience all we have to offer.

I have long been a fan and advocate of the State of Mississippi. From my time growing up among the rows of freshly planted soybeans and cotton fields to a lazy summer day on the Mississippi river trying to catch a mess of catfish. From the warm evening breezes and sand between my toes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to the golf courses, hills, trails, lazy rivers and front porches all across the State. I love Mississippi! I have been all over the State and I am connected to her fertile soil and gracious way of life.

Much of what I love about the State of Mississippi is exemplified in Jones County. We have the vast natural resources, beautiful landscapes, rolling hills and fertile lands. We have every form of living this country boy needs and those things we don't have here, or we want here, are only a dream away. We have some of the most entrepreneurial and innovative individuals throughout the entire state located right here. Don't tell us we can't get it done in Jones County, ‘cause we may just have to prove to you that YES WE CAN!

I encourage each of you to find your passion, whatever it may be and get plugged in. There is something for everyone in Jones County! Tons of Non-Profit organizations, boards, committees, and groups are looking for passionate people to get involved and craft the future direction of our great community. We may not be able to do it all as individuals but together we can build on this great land we all love and call Jones County!

Still can't find what you are looking for? Come to the Chamber, I am always looking for passionate cheerleaders to help us hand out paintbrushes to others looking to grow their dreams.

Larkin