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August 3, 2010

Are greener pastures luring leaders away?

Randy Cowling Managing Editor

CLAREMORE — Longtime Mayor Brant Shallenburger has resigned. He is leaving the Claremore City Council, as well as Claremore for a new job.

Shallenburger will be missed for his leadership on the council and his voice. As the public address announcer at Rogers State University Hillcat basketball games, Shallenburger was not someone you could forget. He was the Voice of the Hillcats.

The now former mayor is one of six Claremore city officals to depart for other places since 2009.

Half of the exits are unrelated. Two of the leaders were city councilors Terry Chase and Shallenburger. The other four were part of municipal management.

No one would ask individuals to pass up new opportunities, especially in a struggling economy. To those who have begun new adventures elsewhere, I say congratulations and good luck.

The multiple exits do beg a question — are the pastures truly greener elsewhere?

Claremore and Rogers County is a great place to live, raise a family and do business. The area offers country living with a taste of metropolitan-ness. Take away the stop and go traffic due to the railroad’s schedule and Claremore is a great city to live.

Recently, Oklahoma Magazine named Claremore among the top places in the state to reside. Our community was among the top 3 Best of the Best Small Communities.

Education, museums, access to recreation, historical significance, close proximity to a large metro city - the list goes on and on as to the attributes of Claremore and Rogers County.

So why leave for places that likely do not have such qualities of life?

Is it because these new opportunities offer an openness to change? While Claremore has its great qualities, it does have an air of provincialism - let’s keep things the way they always were. It’s hard to do, but there are those who continue to try.

No one wants to discard Claremore and Rogers County’s rich heritage. It is part of why our community is great.

What many desire is and atmosphere of openness to new ideas and approaches to government and the way things are accomplished. Having a progressive eye can lead to new opportunities right here in Claremore and Rogers County.

Those opportunities don’t just fall into our laps. Nor do they come without our investing sweat equity and our tax dollars. They require planning and dreaming and a willingness to take a leap of faith when the right opportunity is discovered.

It is hard work retaining the quality of life we all enjoy. Discovering and embracing new opportunities requires even more shoulders pushing the plow. It demands that we work together to make Claremore even more attractive to the outside world, so the decision-makers will be lured to choose to bring their companies, employees and dollars to town.

It’s time to cultivate Claremore, so when people look to greener pastures they will be coming here. 

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