Opinion: Working together

Our local leaders are involved in our community. It’s not uncommon to see Mayor Casper and Mayor Coletti at various events around the community — or seeing them at a local restaurant or the grocery store. They are connected and involved. You can be too. Not everyone gets to be mayor, and we can’t all be on the City Council. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t work together to make our community a stronger, better place.

There are so many opportunities for the citizens of our cities to work together. While not all of the opportunities are as flashy as being an elected official, they are still important. When you commit your time and talents to volunteer in the community, you get a good feel for local needs — how they can best be addressed. It is no coincidence that often politicians are involved in community organizations. They know community organizations have their finger on the pulse of the community.

Part of the reason Idaho Falls is so successful is that our City Council and mayor work together. Imagine what we could accomplish when we all work together as a community to make our cities a better place for all. I encourage every one of us to look for opportunities to provide service. Whether it is helping to sort food at the Community Food Basket, helping with the summer lunch program or any of the other hundreds of ways we can work together to make our communities the best that they can be.

Service can be fun. There are so many nonprofits in the area, fulfilling a variety of missions — and they all need volunteers. If there is not one area of service that inspires you, consider joining one of the many service-oriented clubs in Idaho Falls. Each of these clubs participates in a variety of projects every year, so if you are not interested in one project, there is always something else that you can work on.

I know that during the election the condition of some of the playgrounds came up as an issue. Did you know that one of the many service projects of the local Civitan Club is to revitalize our local parks and playgrounds making them accessible to all? It’s true, and that is just one of the many things done in addition to the fun and fellowship we enjoy as we work together. There are plenty of other community organizations, including Rotary, The City Club and Kiwanis. These groups seek to bring our community together — and we have a great time doing it.

November is a great time to be thankful and consider giving back to our community. I encourage you to dig deep and find a way to get involved at any level. When we work together, we can accomplish so much more than any single elected official can accomplish.

David Roth is the chairman of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.