Good Morning!
I heard some good advice a few years ago, “Don’t treat a blessing like a curse.” Several times since I’ve remembered this sage wisdom in my own life.
August can be a love/hate time for us residents of the Black Hills. Summer first comes and we’re so excited by the holiday spirit but by August we’re exhausted and a little tired of sharing our home turf. This year is particularly difficult as so many people are afraid and upset about people flooding into our area.
Almost every business I talk to, including the Visitor Center is severely understaffed which makes it even harder to keep up with it all. But as someone who’s running a business solely funded by tourism dollars (The Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center) and a supporter of so many businesses that get their livelihood from tourism (The Lead Area Chamber of Commerce) I know that we must persevere and refrain from complaining about what is actually a huge blessing to us to get us through the long hard winter.
I also have seen what a difference our attitude makes on people coming into future years. This might be a year that we are nervous about welcoming visitors but it’s crucially important to be kind, now more than ever. People visiting are eager to enjoy our great state and we depend so heavily on their support. So if you can do one thing for Lead today – please smile at a tourist and thank them for coming to visit our amazing town. And smiling actually might even make you feel better too. Wishing you all the best in these coming crazy crazy weeks ahead!
_________
Here’s what’s happening this week in Lead:
Rally! – Stay safe, remember to watch carefully while you’re driving and strictly obey all traffic laws. My only speeding ticket came in during Rally for going five over.
Thank you to all the police, the emergency crews and all the service staff out there for working so hard to make Rally a success. Our best wishes are with you!
With Love from Lead,
Sierra
ED, SLHVC & LACC
P.S. If you still need a job I know about a million places that are hiring so come see me, call or write back to this email! 🙂