This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

This is how regionalism has been working throughout the Miss-Lou in the past. We are starting a new movement and we want everybody to get involved. The Miss-Lou Regional Initiative has been guided by a steering committee that includes mayors, a police juryman, a supervisor and private business people during the past seven months. Everyone that sits around the table month after month is important to this initiative, but something is missing — the voice of the entire community.

For this initiative to work we need more than the government entities and private business. We need everybody! This is our community and we will either live together or we will die together, but one way or another we are together.

You may ask “What’s in it for me?” The way I see it is that the areas within the Miss-Lou are all very different. Ferriday has resources that Vidalia and Natchez don’t have, and Vidalia and Natchez have resources Ferriday doesn’t have, but if we join together as a team and present ourselves as one, we have all of those resources. If a resident of Ferriday can’t drive 10 minutes to Natchez or Vidalia to a job then they really don’t want to work. If a resident of Vidalia or Natchez doesn’t want to drive 10 minutes to one of our lakes to fish then they really don’t want to fish. It’s that simple.

Sure, there are consultants and professionals that focus solely on community and economic development and the average citizen may feel that it’s the responsibility of the government to make sure our community grows as we think it should. Wrong. It is everybody’s responsibility to make sure the community grows as we think it should. This is your chance to have your voice heard and to make a difference in our community.

The Miss-Lou Regional Initiative has already had one public forum, but two more are scheduled. The second meeting will be a breakfast this Tuesday at the Ferriday Arcade beginning 8:30 a.m.

The third will be an after hours on Thursday, March 11 at the Natchez Community Center beginning 5:30 p.m.

The Miss-Lou Steering Committee will sit as a panel at each of these forums and will allow the public to ask questions about the Miss-Lou Regional Initiative.

Once you’ve had an opportunity to hear about the initiative and inquire about its direction and purpose we ask that you get involved in one of the many subcommittees created through the initiative.

If your passion or concern is education, we ask that you get involved with education. Same as if your passion or concern is health care. If you have any interest in your community, I promise there will be a place for you to serve on this initiative.

Let’s keep Somebody, Anybody and Nobody out of this initiative and make it Everybody’s job.

Glen McGlothin is the mayor of the Town of Ferriday.