This coming Tuesday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m., there is a suggested motion from Board Leadership for the Board of Commissioners to approve the elimination of the Ottawa County motto of “Where Freedom Rings.
This motto was voted in on January 3, 2023 as a promise to the people of Ottawa County that their voices had been heard, that government needed to be kept in its lane, and that the gift of freedom was one that would be continuously fought for – whether in easy or hard times that fell upon our community.
Read the Resolution that established the motto here: https://boards.miottawa.org/…/resolution-to-establish…/
The concept of freedom has been hard wired into each of us since the Creation of the world.
Over the course of history, freedoms have had to be intentionally fought for and our own nation’s founding was one of the biggest experiments of all time. As a society drifts further from God, and makes government or something else a god, freedoms are tested, the family structure is broken, relationships suffer, and the foundation becomes cracked.
Protecting our freedoms are never a one and done concept. Each month, there are countless examples of ways we can continue to stand as your elected officials. The motto “Where Freedom Rings” has helped to foster intentional decision making, including:
* Honoring our Veterans by establishing July as Ottawa County Veterans Month
* Honoring our Veterans and families by hiring a director, staff and finding a space in the county that they can call their own
* Striving to set policies and make decisions with our votes that advocate for a free market
* Advocating with state and national leaders and striving for a day where farmers in our county and state are free from overbearing burdens and regulations
* Advocating for the value of all life from conception to our last natural breath
* Effectively equipping the County’s Recovery Court to help individuals break free of addictions and to begin anew
* Striving to set policies and make decisions with our votes which includes hiring based on merit and excellence and standing against the divisive and discriminatory practice of DEI
* Advocating and coming alongside families who are navigating mental health services
* Freedom to make informed health decisions and where you are treated with respect (which includes a resolution regarding childhood vaccine waivers for school and childcare)
* Working through a Parks Strategic Plan that placed a focus on creating places where all have the freedom and ability to enjoy our beautiful parks
* Advocating and voting for ADA upgrades in our county buildings through the Capital Improvement Plan
* Continuing to advocate for retaining public comment (and not restricting it to certain topics) during each of our meetings
* Approving a resolution that opposed state control of solar siting
Wrestling through ideas with the intentional motto of “Where Freedom Rings” has encouraged me to dig deep, spend intentional time on issues that matter, and look backwards in order to keep learning and moving forward.
