By Paul Fisher

Special to the Salisbury Post

It is time to stand up and be seen.

It is time to speak out and be heard.

It is time for the silent majority to cease being silent.

It is time for all residents of Rowan County to lock arms and engage the future.

It is time.

Never before have I been more optimistic than I have become in the last six months.  I am sensing new energy among the residents of our city and county. I am hearing voices that have been silent for far too long. I am beginning to see a new ERA on the horizon.  The recent countywide community forums have given me hope.  Simply said, I am feeling the wind of change blowing in our direction.

The Chinese symbol for “change” has two meanings: one is danger, the other opportunity.

It is time for us to come down on the side of opportunity. It is time for all of us in the city and county to embrace change. Within change lies opportunity and within opportunity lies our future and our fate.

Someone once said, “The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it. Participate in life instead of just watching it pass you by.”

Just how do we do change?

• First, realize that the cavalry is not coming — it is only us. Yes, we have to save ourselves from ourselves.

• Second, realize that we all play on the same team — it’s called Team Rowan, and there are 140,000 of us in Rowan County.

How many teams — 3,140 teams (counties and parishes) in the United States. We have a huge conference. Tough Teams.

OK, how are we doing? In real time, not so good.  Why? Because we simply do not know how to play team ball. When the ball is snapped, instead of charging across the scrimmage line and engaging the other team, we tackle each other. We tackle our own team mates. How many games do you think we can win with that kind of game plan? Zero, absolutely zero.

So how are we doing?  Let’s check the scoreboard.

• Unemployment is 7 percent, one of highest in state and country.

• Poverty level is 21.2 percent — more than 30 percent higher than the national average.

• Median income down.

• Population down.

• Population getting older.

• Young folks not staying home once they graduate.

• Sadly, the only growth industry in our city and county is crime.

If we continue on the current path, we will risk becoming a Third World county. Simply said, we are not winning the ball game.  Why aren’t we winning?  Our play book does not include things like teamwork, collaboration and cooperation.

The question is, can we turn our fortunes around? Can we become a winning team once again?

The answer is a resounding yes. But it will take a huge amount of effort and commitment from all of us. And yes, it is time.

First, let’s review our county’s assets. Do we have what we need to get the job done? Interstate highways, our location between Charlotte and Greensboro, hospitals, water, four colleges, thriving downtown, historic preservation, airport, cultural assets, high-speed Internet, tourist attractions, quality of life, human services and social safety net.

So why, with all of this, are we failing to move ahead? It is because of the absence of teamwork, cooperation, and collaboration. Leadership must come forward. What is it going to take for the train called change to leave the station? It will take a powerful force of energy, and that energy is called “education.” If we want positive change, we have to embrace education.   

Education is key. Education is the common denominator for success for any community, any time, any place. Education is the very fuel that powers and drives economic development, job creation and quality of life.

If we don’t recognize this very important fact then we shall be doomed for our ignorance. It is no doubt that education is the cornerstone for moving forward. Education, however, must be integrated into a comprehensive plan of work involving many areas:

• A collaborative economic development plan

• A commitment to public safety and crime prevention

• A comprehensive plan to eradicate the cycle of poverty in our communities.

Each of these components is critical to the success of the other and critical to our own success. That is why our leaders must step up and work together to create an educational system that produces the next generation of qualified workers. Leaders need to put forth a collaborative economic plan where the county, city and municipalities are singing off the same sheet of music.

It needs to be one that is integrated into our region and not isolated from our neighbors. We, in Rowan County, must be in concert with each other and we must be in concert with our region if we are to be successful for the long term. We must heighten our commitment to public safety and crime prevention.  No one wants to move to a community with a high crime rate. There must be a public commitment to reduce crime.

Also we must have a comprehensive plan to eradicate the cycle of poverty in our communities. We currently have one of the highest numbers in the U.S. None of the above can happen without education and jobs.

We must work together to create this game plan, and we must work together to execute the game plan.

Each component of the game plan is directly dependent on the other. Without education, there are no jobs. Without jobs, there is poverty. With poverty comes crime.

It’s all interconnected, and we must be interconnected in our solution.  It needs to start — right here and right now with each of us.

We need to work together to solve our problems and stop this cycle of blame and “one-upmanship” that is so prevalent in our county today. We need to demand that our leaders put aside their differences, stop tackling one another and work together.

It is government’s role to help create jobs.

It is government’s role to promote the highest level of education possible.

It is government’s role to keep communities safe and to push constituents toward economic self-sufficiency.

We must work together.  It is time that we take on the challenges that face our city and county.

It is time for us to seize the opportunities that hold the secrets to our future.

We can no longer tolerate the status quo. Aristotle once said: “Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society.” Yes, we have been forewarned. It is time to act and the time is now

Paul Fisher is chairman and CEO of F&M Bank.