Neal Asbury, host of the popular syndicated talk radio show Made in America, recently delivered a commencement address to 350 graduating MBAs, which was subsequently published in The Manzello Report.

It was a very good speech.  Part of what Asbury said resonated with us here at Otsego Now because it described, in places, an important part of our economic development philosophy:

Do not be afraid. The road to a success is full of twist and turns. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

Any local economy that is suffering from neglect or atrophy or even just the consequences of historical misfortune will not instantly begin to bloom as soon as we start talking about it.  Sometimes we will get funding for that large and far-seeing project; sometimes, we won’t.  Sometimes we will succeed in revitalizing a Main Street; sometimes, we won’t.   In the end, we will be defined by how resilient we are — how we learn to retain our patience and our sense of humor as we face the inevitable challenges that go with economic development.

“It is a marathon, not a sprint.”

At the end of the day, our mission is to bring jobs to the area, good jobs that will enable residents to find work that improves their standards of living.

Success, as it is measured in this line of work, will take time. There is no magic wand or silver bullet. But that’s okay. We’re in it for the long haul.