I had something pointed out to me today. There is a difference between what a person is and what a businesses entity is. I do not want to assume that I understand an individual's intent. I want to give the benefit of the doubt to any person or entity until it has been proven in my mind that the benefit of the doubt is no longer warranted.
With that in mind I would like to retract my comments about Mr. Hughes. I do not know that he intentionally did anything questionable or ethically wrong as a person. I need to be specific, and will now be sure to make a clear differentation between Mr. Hughes and the "Hughes Entity".
I will not apologize for calling out an entity that has cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, treated clients differently strictly due to their geographic location, and passed on the blame for bad quality product.
Some that know the story of Atlas Shrugged and my general alignment with that point of view may think that I'm being a hypocrite. "Isn't the Hughes Entity one of the men of industry and 'doers' that you are pleading for?" That is where some of the critique of Atlas Shrugged misses it's target. There were men of industry such as Orren Boyle, that made inferior products and couldn't keep a deadline, and than passed on the fault to anyone that it could be dumped on. And than there were people like Hank Reardon that 'did' and the whole purpose was to create quality product and EARN the monetary gain.
Blum Brothers Construction is like Hank Reardon in my mind. I have heard of plenty of examples of BBC tearing something out and starting over because they were not satisfied with the end result. I have not heard of an example of a client of BBC hiring someone to fix a BBC project. They may not be the least expensive option, but if you value what they produce you will appreciate the end result and see why a higher price is warranted.
There may have been other entities that put in inferior septic systems in Mills County and only the Hughes Entity was publicized, and there may be other houses built at the end of a giant funnel and the ground is collapsing under a house... I haven't heard anyone else have these issues, and I certainly haven't heard anyone claim those types of issues with BBC.
Everyone makes mistakes. The difference is taking responsibility for those mistakes and making it quality in the end. BBC rips out their mistakes and rebuilds it to their satisfaction. The Hughes Entity has passed the buck onto the county... and therefore us as tax payers.
If I am woefully incorrect in these statements, please feel free to correct me. Everyone has unsatisfied customers. Everyone makes mistakes. The difference is how you correct those mistakes.
You can say I'm one sided and anti-Hughes Entity. Okay. If I hadn't had so much reason to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt, they'd still be getting it. When a good friend of one of the Hughes Entity says they wouldn't let that entity build their dog house with the lumber they use, when a person that works for the man has to bite his tongue repeatedly to not publicly bad-mouth their boss, when some of the most respected elders of the town tell the first hand stories of what they went through, I tend to believe that this is the norm, not the exception.
"Doing" without value is no better than not 'doing', and often times worse.
I also want to make sure that I am not sounding anti-Glenwood. Growth for either town is beneficial to the other. McCormick Station, Garden Treasures, Joe Designer, and many other businesses have put their money where their mouth is, created quality product, and 'done'. I only have positive thoughts towards and solid relationships with these entities. I have attended E-Team meetings and Downtown Assessment meetings with the hope of a group effort that will benefit us all.
If the Glenwood Chamber wishes to re-extend their hand, or the local businesses wish to reach out to them, that is one of the best things that can happen. The growth of the square, and such a beautiful square it is, only can benefit both of our towns. But it brings one back to the benefit of the doubt. After so many years of Malvern, Emerson, Silver City, Mineola, and all the other communities of Mills County being largely ignored... it is hard to continue that benefit of the doubt. Glenwood has deserved the lion's share due to their past performance compared to the other communities and their population percentage, but all of the attention is never warranted by a 'County' Chamber.
This post was brought about by the decision of one of the best voices and 'doers' in the community. We have unfortunately lost this voice, in voice and 'doing'. I respect their decision and their reasons for those decisions. I have always respected, and will continue to respect this voice even though we don't agree on this topic, and many others to be quite honest. We cannot afford to lose more of these voices and 'doers'. There would be one more building on Main Street waiting to be condemned if it wasn't for this person's 'doing'. I feel this individual is as responsible as any other in the resurgence of this community.
I wish that time could be turned back and give this person the respect and dividends that they deserve. Unfortunately it cannot be done... L&GL.
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