Happy Birthday to me Tar Heel litany

Here it is my 50th Birthday and it is time to update the Tar Heel litany. So here goes:
6 National titles (1924 counts)
18 Final Four appearances (Recprd)
10 National title games
102 NCAA tourney wins (Record)
27 consecutive years in the NCAA tourney (Record)
45 Jerseys in the rafters
More NBA first round draft choices than I can count.

I can't wait to see what the next 50 years has to bring.

Entering Cyberspace

Just set up a facebook page. What an incredible network. It is amazing how quickly the social networking on the web is changing the way we conduct business. Now people are putting information about jobs on twitter, I can get in touch with people I went to HS with and even put out feelers for jobs. Wow!

I will be setting a facebook page up for Stokes County this week and look for ways to market the county outside of the normal channels. I hope to get in front of the curve and not get run over by the masses

Able to breathe

The Heels survived to make it to their 23rd sweet 16. I'm not sure what the selection committee was doing making LSU a 8 seed. They have a really good team and a very good coach. They looked a lot better than 4 seed WF of 5 seed FSU.

I have to question though why Roy had to call his seniors out. If they don't know by now that the next loss is their last, they have real issues. The Zags are up next and we are an early 9 pt favorite. I think LSU is about on the same level and if we play well we win. Go Heels and I can at least rest until Friday. I think I will put some ice on my toe, maybe it will help Lawson get better.

The Best of All Days

Nothing is ever any better than when the Heels win. The only thing that can come close is when Dook loses and when the Heels beat Dook, it really makes my day. This win gives us 4 of the last 5 and puts Rat Face at 32 and 34 against us (not sure if that counts the year with the bad back)

This group of players has had a great run. To be 27-3, against the competition they have played and with the big bulls eye on their back is really special. I have tried to take Coach William's advice and enjoy the ride. I just want it to last nine more games and end with a W. The Heels play with class and win or lose, I am proud to be a Tar Heel!

Feeling Old

I had my first day of really hard work since my surgery today. I hurt everywhere but my hip. I guess that is a good thing. It is so odd that my brain thinks I am 20 but my body if rapidly approaching 50.

Fifty doesn't sound nearly as old to me as it did ten years ago. I think with a little bit of conditioning, I can take several years off my actual age. I was able to work for six hours of pretty hard labor before I called it a day. Thank heavens for vicadin and hot water.

Rainmakers

I was talking to a friend at a conference last evening and asked what had led to a nearby county firing their ED Director. She didn't have any inside information but she said that from reading between the lines they wanted a rainmaker. Someone to come in, walk on water and make big deals happen with the flick of a finger.

Wouldn't it be nice if that could happen! The reality of the matter is that for things to change, you need to be willing to work hard, sell your community, work harder, have lots of product to sell, work even harder and be realllll lucky. There might be a few folks that can come in and bring business with them but they are beyond the reach of most rural areas.

I will continue to plod away, like the workhorse I have been compared to and lets see who has the most success. Another friend said last night that you can do our job without an ego ( and that is probably the best way to do it) but you can't do it without passion. As my wife is fond of saying, I don't just take things seriously, I take them personally (and not just about my Heels)

So keep trying to make it rain but you better be willing to outwork the plow-horses or you will end up finishing in second place.

News Update

Just getting settled in my new job. The lessons keep coming. It doesn't really matte where you go, people are pretty much the same. Most are good and you can trust them, then there are the others. The get in a position of authority and it goes to their head. It certainly happened in Caldwell County, I have seen it in Greensboro (the commission chair made comments to the effect of we don't have anything happening in economic development, why do we need an economic developer).

I have what I like to think is a logical. I try to break things down into reasonable steps and then proceed down a path to a logical completion. It drives me batty when decisions are made based on faulty logic.

The regular season in college basketball is winding down. It looks like Carolina and Dook will battle for the title. I hope Tyler drops 40 on them and the Heels win by 25. Have I mentioned lately that I don't care for Dook. I believe they embody all that is wrong with our country today. Go Heels!