The Marathon

"When nothing seems to help, I look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it, but all that had gone before." ~ Jacob A. Riis


Riis emigrated to the United States in 1870 when he was 21. He was the 3rd of 15 children. After being destitute and near starvation, Riis became one of the most important figures in photography history. He also became a champion for documenting the plight of beleaguered and impoverished New Yorkers in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He rose out of the ashes. He rose out of the ashes due to his attitude - immortalized in the quote above.


The Biggest Loser on NBC (a reality show that focuses on weight loss for morbidly obese persons through competition) usually ends with a marathon. Many of the people that take on the marathon are people that may have had a hard time climbing a single flight of stairs just months before - if they could climb stairs at all. People weighing more than 400 lbs. at the beginning of the competition compete tirelessly for months and end the competition with a marathon - 26.2 miles. Some of them walk/run, some of them walk, and many of them run. Without the weeks and months leading up to the marathon, there's no way most of, if not all, the contestants would make it through that marathon alive. If they tried, they would likely kill themselves because their hearts, lungs and cardiovascular systems just aren't equipped to handle that sort of pressure. The contestants go through weeks and weeks of learning how to eat, learning how to exercise and learning how to live a healthier lifestyle. It's not just one aspect. It's not just running everyday. It's not just changing what they eat. It's not just eating less. It's not just lifting weights, or doing push-ups, or jumping jacks, or swimming, or hiking. It's all of it.


Making positive change is a marathon - a marathon that doesn't end. Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr., once said "success is a journey not a destination."


Will spending $50 per month at your three favorite local businesses turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. Will buying EVERYTHING locally turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. But changing the lifestyle of a community may. Making many small changes may be the key - like taking many small steps to complete a marathon. When people run a marathon, they don't take one or two giant leaps from the starting line to the finish line, they take countless steps. One right after the other. They travel 26.2 miles in increments of 2 or 3 feet. Making lasting change in your community will take the same attitude. You may not realize the victories and rewards that you desire, but if you keep hammering away at that rock you'll eventually break it.


I get a kick out of all the times I see someone trying really hard to unscrew the lid off a jar. They struggle and try. They bang it on the counter, they try a towel, they run it under hot water... They try everything they can think of to unscrew it. Finally, they ask for help. The helper gets a firm grip on the lid and twists... POP! It's off. Many times the the person that spent all their time and energy trying with no success says something like, "thanks, but you know I loosened it for you." The person that got it open usually says something sarcastic like, "sure ya did." There's likely no way to prove if the first person loosened it or not. If the first person had tried one more time, would the lid have come off? If the second person had tried earlier, or been the first to try, would the lid have come right off? We'll never know.


Ronald Reagan once said, "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit."


Indeed. Many people and organizations want their name(s) plastered on the success of something. These are the same type of people that duck and weave when it turns out to be a failure. They try to take their name away. Accept the success and failures and move on. Take the small steps, steady the course and enjoy the ride. WD-40 got its name because there were 39 failures.



-Josh Mackey


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Josh Mackey's Do It Local Speech 7.7.10

A prize-winning author and fellow broadcaster, Studs Terkel, once said – “Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it is my responsibility to make it better.”

At no other time in history has it been as important as it is now for heroes like this to step up in our community. At one time in our nation’s history, apathy was a remedy for a sickness brought on by extenuating circumstances and harsh times. Apathy was a way for people to disconnect, and possibly keep their sanity. But just like any medication, apathy in large doses can lead to a downward spiral, and begin infecting those that had no intentions of being apathetic. It is a disease that we must consciously find a cure for, everyday.

Grace Lee Boggs, an activist, once said – “We can begin by doing small things at the local level, like planting community gardens or looking out for our neighbors. That is how change takes place in living systems, not from above but from within, from many local actions occurring simultaneously.”

This is what we’re asking of you. Take action. No longer engage in the water-cooler talk of “did you see ‘they’ did this”, or “why don’t ‘they’ do something about it”. The insidious “they” that we often speak of, is simply us. If something needs to be done and doesn’t get done, it’s because we haven’t done it.

Anita Roddick once said – “I want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want something not just to invest in. I want something to believe in.” I think this is a sentiment that is true for a lot of people. We want something to believe in. We want to be inspired. And stumbling upon a community that is united and strong is an inspirational thing.

Now, it may seem like I’m proposing we leave here tonight and do great things. While that would be ideal, I think the bigger, and more realistic, picture is for us all to leave here tonight feeling empowered to make the necessary changes in our community, in order for us to be proud of our community and for others to see our community through our eyes. This sort of pride is just as infectious as the negativity of apathy.

Winston Churchill once said – “You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.” And Tom Brokaw once said – “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.”

It’s important to note that reversing the trend of decline will not be easy, but it may be the most important, and fulfilling, thing you do – aside from raising your children. But they go hand in hand. Don’t you raise your children with a certain amount of community pride, or lack thereof?

Join the Do It Local campaign and strengthen the community that you love. Sandra Day O’Connor once said – “We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone. And whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.”

Take the first step. And with each additional step, experience the growing fulfillment of knowing you’re a part of something big, a part of something that says – “We will not go quietly into the night. We will not be defeated, nor will we defeat ourselves.” And all it takes is making a commitment to Do It Local.


~Josh Mackey 7.7.10

Community Peace

"When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities." ~ The Dalai Lama

Face it, there are plenty of reasons for people to disagree and to be vocal and/or active regarding the disagreement. Ideological differences, perspective differences, differences in desires and needs, political differences... The list goes on. We could spend all day talking about why we see things differently.

But what does that have to do with community?

From the very beginnings of our democracy, our country has been defined by the differences, not punished or lessened by them. So you disagree with what someone said, or you disagree with how another business goes about advertising, or you don't see eye-to-eye with someone on politics. Those differences have nothing to do with strengthening a community and creating a "bank" of loyalty that can be tapped into whenever things in the community get rough. Like in most offices in the world, people aren't there to agree with each or be friends, they are there for the common goal of the business/company. They work with each other, even if they don't particularly like it.

Humility. Nobility. Two things that are paramount to strengthening a community, and keeping it strong. Much like the saying "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a noise?", if you donate your time and energy to the community without being thanked, is it worth it? Certainly. If you don't feel the personal satisfaction of being involved and seeing the impact you can have on the community, just look at the combined efforts of the various community organizations and see the real-time change they are engaged in - like building a house. The fewer people involved, the slower the progress, the harder it is to see the change - and the greater the workload for those involved. The more people involved, the faster the progress, the easier it is to see the change - and this creates a reduced workload for those involved.

Businesses, and people, will compete. And that competition will get heated at times. But when it comes to the community, no one benefits from allowing those competitions and disagreements to come between the community's current state and the community's future state.

So go out and volunteer. Even if it's only a small part, you're making your community a better place and reducing the workload for the selfless people that tend to carry the burden. Work to set aside the ideological differences and bring a sense of common goals and rewards. Be the change.

Be your community.


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So Whatchya, Whatchya, Watchya Want?

We all hear people say things like, "there's nothing to do in a small town" or, "I can't find what I'm looking for in a small town."

There is an often overlooked fact when it comes to services and products that are perceived to be unavailable in a small town - business owners want your business and will do everything in their power to obtain those products and services you're looking for in order to obtain and retain you as a customer/client. All you have to do is ask, or let your request(s) be known. The owners/managers of small businesses are usually very accessible or easy to contact. If they're not in the office/store on the day you visit or call, leave a message asking them to contact you back. I bet you'll be surprised at how many very busy business owners/operators will contact you back and work hard to find what you're looking for.

For many people, the internet has become the new go-to place for purchasing things they can't find in their local shops. The truth is, businesses have access to those same online items/services. The difference is, when/if something goes wrong with your purchase, finding someone to fix the issue online can be an exercise in futility. When something goes wrong with your local purchase, you've got a human being you can go to with the issue.

What are some of the most common things you purchase out-of-town or online? What are some of the products or services you'd like to see more of in Ogallala or your local community? What are some of the biggest complaints when it comes to the tax burden versus the services offered through tax funding?

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Local Living Economy

We thought this was an interesting article from the Business Alliance for Local Living Economics. And we think it's very fitting for not only Ogallala and rural Nebraska, but for communities all over the country.

"A Local Living Economy

The primary purpose of a true market economy is not to make money for the rich and powerful. When Adam Smith conceptualized the idea of the market economy in his classic The Wealth of Nations, he had in mind economies that allocate human and material resources justly and sustainably to meet the self-defined needs of people and community.

When enterprises are locally rooted, human-scale, owned by stakeholders, and held accountable to the rule of law by democratically elected governments, there is a natural incentive for all concerned to take human and community needs and interests into account. When income and ownership are equitably distributed, justice is served and political democracy is strong. When needs are met locally by locally owned enterprises, people have greater control over their lives, money is recycled in the community rather than leaking off into the global financial casino, jobs are more secure, economies are more stable, and there are the means and the incentives to protect the environment and to build the relationships of mutual trust and responsibility that are the foundation of community."

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Strengthening local businesses and the community as a whole is the primary purpose of Do It Local Ogallala. Get involved, or find out more by visiting us on Facebook or emailing us.

A prize-winning author and broadcaster, Studs Terkel, once said – “Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it is my responsibility to make it better.”

Our Mission

Education - of local business, consumers and the community at large on the value of maintaining and nurturing a floursishing local economy that meets all the varied needs of Ogallala's residents and visitors.

Beautification - of the community and downtown business district, in order to present a picture of health and well-being to all who visit and live in Ogallala.

Attraction - of the small businesses necessary to maintain and expand a healthy economy, with emphasis on Ogallala's downtown business district, that offers the wides possible array of goods and services to meet the needs of residents and visitors alike.

Promotion - to make Downtown Ogallala the destination for tourists and residents who want to shop, dine and explore.