Perception Is The Problem

In my travels around the county I am often asked about the state of our community. “What are we going to do about Coshocton?” they ask?

I struggle each time to come up with an appropriate answer, I guess because I struggle with the question. By no means will I suggest (here or otherwise) that we have not, as a community, had difficult times in the past couple of years. We have.

The trouble I have is that we as a community seem bound and determined to cling to the negative perceptions despite mounting evidence that speaks to the positive. There is encouraging news all around us. What am I talking about, you ask? Well let me give you cold, hard facts.

In a recent meeting, Port Authority Director T.J. Justice pointed out there is over $600,000 million being invested in Coshocton County in private economic development! That is a staggering amount of money for a community our size. Think about it. Between Kraft, AEP, Coshocton Ethanol, and Intrinergy we have over ONE HALF a BILLION DOLLARS coming into the county.

“Sure,” you say. “But that will only help in the future.” Wrong! Based on receipts in the Coshocton County Auditor’s office, sales tax receipts were up 9% in the first quarter. That is an immediate and very current measurement of business across the board in Coshocton County…and the arrow is pointing up!

“But what about jobs?” you might say. “There are no jobs in town!” Now while I would concede that the face of employment in Coshocton County has changed, that situation has improved recently too. In 2005 in February there were 1,814 unemployment claims. In 2006 at the same time the number dropped to 1,398. This year that number has dropped to 1,214. Though we would all like to see that number continue to decline, the trend is certainly moving in the right direction.

And oh by the way, did you hear about the remarkable donation that Joe Engle and his wife just made to our community? Their donation of $10 million will allow approximately 12 students per year to go to The Ohio State University for free. That’s a reason to bring your children here!

But wait…there’s more!

Tourism income is up in Coshocton County. Last year the Convention and Visitors Bureau had received just under $15,000 from the bed tax. This year the total is nearly $25,000 for the same period. This is money that is used directly to promote visitors coming to our county. This means that the CVB will be working even harder to increase those tourists in the community!

And here’s the place where we each can make a difference. We need to change the way we talk about our own community. Visitors to our community could be just passing through, or they could be investigating us as a possible business location. We are all a part of the marketing team for Coshocton County.

We need to celebrate the positives a bit more…and lament the negatives a bit less. I believe that a big part of Coshocton County’s challenge is our own perception of our selves. We need to remember all of the things that make our community special…and talk about them! And yes…that CAN help to change Coshocton County for the better.

So what are we going to do about Coshocton County? I don’t know about you. But I am going to enjoy it.