Gratitude for all our Bemidji Blessings

November 2024
Dave Hengel
Executive Director

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” ―
President John F. Kennedy

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe my memory of the good old days is a bit pollyannish, and I’ve forgotten how things really were. Or maybe it’s the advent of social media – where voices and opinions can spread far faster (and more anonymously) than in the past. It could just simply be that the job I have forces me to see and hear it more than others.

Whatever the cause is, it seems to me our society – certainly nationally but also locally – has become so negative. Complaining comes very naturally – complaints about public leaders and their decisions, our world, our economy and, yes, our community. I’m not immune to this shift toward negativity. I’m fully capable of being a champion complainer especially as winter approaches.

I believe the antidote to our negativity rests with occasionally pausing and acknowledging the gifts that have been bestowed on us. For that reason, I use the month of November to focus on what I am grateful for – not what I don’t have or what I would love to change.

Truly I have so much to be personally thankful for. I have a large, wonderful family that enjoys time together. I have a genuine group of friends – friends that support each other and celebrate great times together. I live in a great community amidst a natural environment that rivals any location in the world. I have a challenging yet rewarding job that can positively impact our region. On a personal level, I have many blessings.

Putting on my Greater Bemidji hat, our organization too has many blessings that allow us to continue to push our community forward. Community-building work cannot be done in a vacuum. Every successful initiative at Greater Bemidji has been done in partnership with others in our community. We are deeply grateful for all those who partner to build a prosperous region.
Let me highlight a few:

Greater Bemidji is grateful to collaborate every day with our Bemidji Alliance partners. Our region is so well served by the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce, Visit Bemidji, the Bemidji Downtown Association and 218 Sports. Each of us shares a passion to serve this community, and support its long term, sustainable growth and development. My position takes me to many communities throughout the state. These organizations are the best I have worked with in northern Minnesota.

We are blessed by new partnerships throughout the region. The work of non-profit community organizations in our region is awe-inspiring. As economic development becomes increasingly complex and complicated, Greater Bemidji has had to forge new relationships with non-profit leaders throughout our region. Let me offer a few examples. In the past few years, Greater Bemidji has begun working more closely with the Northwest Indian Community Development Corporation, 4-Direections Development and Leech Lake Financial Services to provide resources to all of the region’s businesses and entrepreneurs no matter where they are located. Our partnership with the Bemidji Area United Way continues to grow, and I fully expect our work to increasingly intersect in the coming years as we address the challenges highlighted by their recent ALICE (Asset limited, income constrained, employed) research on our area. Most recently, we have begun working with Beltrami County Human Services, the Headwaters Regional Development Commission and other local organizations to address the affordable housing challenges our region now faces. Our community is blessed to have these and other mission-driven organizations striving to make Bemidji a better place to live, work and raise a family.

We are blessed to work hand and hand with our newest partner – the YMCA of the Northern Sky. We continue to move forward one step at a time to transform the currently contaminated rail corridor on the south edge of downtown into a vibrant neighborhood. It is a very complex project – one not for the faint of heart. The transformation is simply not possible without the YMCA. The YMCA has shown true leadership by keeping their eyes on the impact they can make by serving the Bemidji community – not on the challenges of the site.

We are blessed to have a respectful partnership with the leadership at the City of Bemidji, Beltrami County, Bemidji School Board and other elected bodies in the area. Unfortunately, our country has become hyper political, even at the local levels. It is one thing I wish we could turn back the clock to the good-old days. While Greater Bemidji doesn’t agree with every decision or position, we don’t question the intent of our public sector leaders. To a person they
all want a better Bemidji region, and we honor their public service.

We have been blessed by the work of stewards before us who built our community into what it is today. It often bold decisions, hard work and perseverance to successfully position Bemidji for the future. Today we benefit from a great airport, a vibrant downtown, the nation’s best broadband network, Bemidji State University, Sanford Health, the Sanford Center and some of northern Minnesota’s best parks – just to name a few. These community assets don’t just happen. It takes bold decisions – difficult at the time – to lay our economic foundation.

Finally (and this might surprise you) but we are blessed by those who disagree with a project or initiative at Greater Bemidji. I am not under the illusion that all our ideas are great, or our work is exactly what the region needs. No doubt, people who love our region as much as I do can disagree with our approach. I fully respect those who disagree provided they also share and act on their own ideas to support our region. True public engagement and stewardship involves action beyond the negative letter to the editor or Facebook post. As the saying goes, better to light a single candle than to merely curse the darkness.

As I reflect on our work over the past year, we have so much to be grateful for. Greater Bemidji has a committed Board of Directors, a tremendous staff team and partners that share our vision for the region. Helen Keller’s words speak to directly my heart, “So much has been given me, I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.”

On behalf of all of us at Greater Bemidji, I’d like to wish all our community members a safe and joyous upcoming Holiday Season.