A few months have passed since I started my new position as the Director of Special Events for the City of Valparaiso and Valparaiso Community Festival and Events. They have been a great few months, and I am eagerly looking to the future to continue what the city has begun.

We have a wise one in my family, whom I've often looked to for advice. His line to me is, "You can't get anywhere until you first put your oars in the water and decide how hard you are willing to row."

I have heard this so many times that now it's a simple "grab your oars." I am visualizing a set of "oars" as my next Christmas gift.

So here I go.

At times, it's pretty hard to row. But at other times, it is as if the water were a sheet of glass and the oars just glide as smoothly and naturally as I could hope for, things just seem to click. But this is what makes up the days of life, and if they were all the same life would be somewhat boring.

The city also has grabbed its oars and begun rowing, and things seem to be going smoothly. We have a lot going on in our community now. And when completed -- wow! Just look at what we will have.

The downtown park is happening. This new venue will be not only be a beautiful and welcomed addition to our downtown, but it will also be the site to host events, movies, music -- the list of possibilities is endless.

The downtown streetscape is nearing completion. This has had such a visual impact on our community. I constantly hear how beautiful it is. We should be proud that our city has thought enough of the vitality of our downtown to undertake such a positive project.

All of this spurs a creative mayhem in our office that is a wonderfully inspiring and contagious bug. The inspiration stems from our administration and flows through our leadership team and into our offices.

My excitement about downtown Valparaiso also is fueled by each of the businesses I visit. They convince me, more and more, of the superior quality and vast variety that downtown Valparaiso has to offer.

Did you know you can buy a new scooter, get a great meal, have a picture framed, buy the perfect gift and a whole lot more downtown?

As we begin to think about how we are going to celebrate our Independence Day, remember you can finish your day with the Mayor's Fourh of July Blast. Festivities will begin at 6:30 pm at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School with performances by The Conservadellics, The Kicks and The LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra. The evening with conclude with fireworks at dusk.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday weekend and look forward to visiting with you each week.