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opinion
Courage drives us to
reach beyond ourselves
16 • May 10, 2012
The Splash
By Jesse Sheldon
Splash Guest Column
What image comes to mind when
asked to visualize someone who displays
courage? Personally, I picture a firefighter,
a member of our military fighting for
our freedom or someone donating an organ.
To me, each of these people displays
incredible courage. I also believe courage
can be as simple as admitting to your
mom that you broke her favorite vase
instead of passing off the blame to your
brother, knowing you will be grounded
for a week. My personal definition of
courage is probably best represented by
this quote by Ambrose Redmoon: "Courage
is not the absence of fear, but rather
the judgment that something else is more
important than fear."
It is this determination that something
else is more important than the fear of
failure that has driven me to address the
need for diaper support in my community.
Being an only child, a teenager and a
guy, I had never really thought about how
much of a necessity diapers were for babies.
When I learned what it costs a family
financially for diapers and the fact that
resources such as food stamps and WIC
don’t help pay for diapers or hygiene
items, I began to understand just how basic
was the need for diaper support.
When I tell people my story about feeling
called and compelled to take action to
help local families with this need, many
look at me and ask why. How did I know
what to do? Wasn’t I afraid of failing?
What I know now is that I made a decision
that affected not just the time I have
spent in high school, but a decision that
will impact the rest of my life.
When I first started to seriously consider
the idea of starting a nonprofit to
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help diaper babies, I could only think
about what a great resource this could be
for the community. I never thought about
the possible challenges — both logistical
obstacles as well as personal challenges
— that might stand in my way. The logistical
obstacles included writing a business
plan, filing for 501(c)3 status, locating
physical space to operate, funding
and most importantly developing support
for my vision. All of those daunting
tasks may have overwhelmed my family
as I began this journey, but those were
simple things compared to the personal
challenges I have faced.
As a teenager, I am fully aware of how
teens can be ridiculed and labeled, sometimes
unintentionally. The first label I
was given was that of “Diaper Boy.” Even
some of the news media referred to me
that way in the beginning. I was also labeled
as unconventional, persistent and
unyielding in my objective to see a diaper
bank succeed. I was undaunted. The
more research I did, the more I felt the
conviction to proceed to build a diaper
bank in my community.
My next personal challenge was to accept
that my focus was very different than
other teens my age. I was thinking about
mission statements, sponsorships, website
design and program development,
not what movie to go to or where to hang
out on the weekend. But whenever I felt
my courage and determination waning, I
remembered that this was not about me,
but about taking action to meet a need in
my community. This doesn’t mean that I
don’t recognize that sacrifices have been
made or that my high school experience
is very different from that of most of my
peers.
Probably the most important thing
I have learned from my experience
of founding Inland Northwest Baby
(INWB) is that courage comes in many
different shapes and forms. As Maya Angelou
said, “One isn't necessarily born
with courage, but one is born with potential.
Without courage, we cannot practice
any other virtue with consistency. We
can't be kind, true, merciful, generous or
honest.”
We need to not be afraid to take a
stand, to defend a cause, to look outside
ourselves and be courageous.
Jesse Sheldon, 17, is a junior at Central
Valley High School and the founder of Inland
Northwest Baby, a nonprofit that distributes
diapers and children’s clothing to
area families. He wrote this column as part
of a special monthly column series highlighting
the PACE (Partners Advancing
Character Education) trait of the month
that runs in partner publications.
Splash Editorial
City administrator appointment
process a win for Liberty Lake
Community participation was not a
hallmark of the changeup at Liberty Lake
City Hall back in 2005.
In a move about as popular as a rainout
at Pavillion Park before a summer
concert, Mayor Steve Peterson made the
decision to reorganize the administrative
ship by jettisoning inaugural City
Administrator Lewis Griffin, who had
signed on with Liberty Lake after serving
as city administrator in Colfax.
“Grif,” as he was known by family,
friends and co-workers, balked at a ceremonial
job representing Liberty Lake
as a legislative lobbyist and went west to
Connell where he was hired as the city
administrator. When Griffin passed away
from lung cancer in 2008, his funeral included
a gathering of friends from Liberty
Lake, a city he had helped form from
the ground up.
When he made the decision to go without
a city administrator, Peterson talked
about the need to turn more responsibility
over to department directors, save
administrative costs and streamline the
process at City Hall. Overall, the move
made sense. The way it was handled did
not.
Shift ahead to 2011 and a group backing
a different sort of change — this
one from the strong-mayor/city council
form of government in place since
incorporation to a city manager/council
structure. One of the benefits of the
transition, argued residents like Ron
Ragge and Mary Munger, would be that
dismissing a city manager would require
a majority vote of council, not a single
vote by a mayor.
While the initiative was defeated by a
resounding margin of over 70 percent
in last November’s general election, the
message had been sent. Effective municipal
government was a byproduct of
collaboration, public participation and
well-trained leaders who understand the
complexities of running a city.
Just over a month after he returned to
office, Peterson himself provided an ideal
job description as the search for a city administrator
began.
“We’re looking for someone who will
work well with the community, be a
sounding board for employees and management
and provide guidance to the
council,” he said.
To its credit, the city went about the
various interview and appointment steps
in an inclusive way that gave stakeholders
the voice they were missing in 2005.
Separate interview panels of citizens, staff
and council members grilled the three finalists
in April the day after a meet-andgreet
open house at City Hall.
While the final decision of who to hire
was left to Peterson, interim City Administrator
Mike Cecka, City Council, staff
and residents all had a say in the process.
The result was no less than a communitywide
interview to determine the best person
for the job.
When Katy Allen was finally announced
as the second city administrator
in Liberty Lake’s history on April 17,
it felt more like a team victory, one that
involved feedback, collective discussion
and an emphasis on municipal priorities.
And somewhere Lewis Griffin was cheering.