The "Ridge" Is Worth It!

The first major event was held at StoneyRidge Municipal Golf Course Wednesday and was very impressive.
The T.L. Roach, Jr. Unit hosted a benefit tournament for the Special Olympics and the turnout was excellent.
Roach Unit personnel did a terrific job with the event and StoneyRidge did not disappoint those ready to play.
I love to golf. I took up the sport a little late, but it is very challenging and rewarding.
Golf can be humiliating. It is also addictive. It can anger you to the point where you invent new cuss words in one moment and make you feel like the strongest man in the world the next. Whatever the emotion, StoneyRidge is pretty enough to enhance it.
Many of you don't golf and have no desire to. I think you deserve to see what this place is all about should you desire to. I would like to suggest our City Council play up the official opening of StoneyRidge and invite the residents to come out and see the facility first hand. After all, they are the owners of the place.
Another major event will be happening at the club this weekend. The Ladies Golf Association is hosting a tournament with around 72 players participating, many from out of town. Some will be staying in hotel rooms and many will be shopping and eating a meal or two here. That's big money for Childress as a whole.
We may indeed be facing tough economic times for the foreseeable future, but that may be a good thing locally as Childress becomes an affordable and desirable alternative destination compared to larger cities.
Those in nearby cities can spend a Saturday in Childress, play golf, eat, shop and catch a movie for a third of what it would cost in the big city. Let's seize on these opportunities and begin to market ourselves to that degree.
Residents of Childress are blessed to be in a place where the future is not bleak. We are blessed to have opportunity because many around us are struggling.
Go take a look at StoneyRidge. Check out the new jail. Go see Bobby Sanders at the ATV park under construction. Take pride in your community and continue to work to make it better!
This city is positioned to grow and offer even more opportunity. But it won't stay that way.
Once upon a time, many small towns thought their future was secure. They had train stations, bus stations, grocery stores and a whole lot of retailers. Saturday night the farmers would load their families up and the town would buzz. Sound familiar?
Things change and as a community, either you're going to change with the times or you're going to regret it. I know this town is full of like-minded, good people who don't won't to regret a thing. As long as we have that, we have a fighting chance.

Copyright Christopher Blackburn 2008