Page 3 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2019 Issue 3

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Publisher s Perspective
e the people ni Ille United states, in order to farm a more I
pelfecl unlrtn, establish justice, insure domeslic Ixanquility, -
pmvide tor the ertnrrnrtn defense, promote the general

welfare, and secure the blessings ni liberty In nulselves and nut

puslerity, do nldain and eslablish this Cnnsliluliun for the Uniled

Slales ni Amuica.

These tanttltar words state the hrnrlamental purposes, prtnetples and

goals of the guvemmenl estahltsheel by the Constitution. Its purpose ts l

to generally define the reasons behtnd the corrstttutton, eslabllsh what V

,usttfies a govertrrrtent, and explain how tts etttzens have eorrte to ereate

one.

These words, penned more than 230 years ago, sttll tnsptre those of us struggltng to develop meanlngful
and lasttng relationships today. what we should reeogntze ts that these words do not speak rust to the
quality of the doeument, but rather speak to the qualtty of people lnvulved tn ereattng the eloeurrrent.
Human nature betng what rt ts eonvtnees us that assembled together in that far away September of
yesteryear were people from dlffcmnl parts of the eountry and wtth rlttterent perspeettves and goals
Fl'u~tmllon may have brought them together, but eornrrrttrrrent to a common goal kept them working
together tor the benefit of thetr generatton and the generattons to eorrre

lt must be the same fol us today. Are we wtlltng to untte behtnd a eorrrrnon goal of damage prcvcntlon

‘ and has that eornmon goal been defined yet? what are we wtlltng to do to help keep Arkansas a ~afer

plaee to i|\'e and work? ls tt posstble to aelneve sueh an honorable yet dlffleull goal? or eourse, the
answer la, "Yes."

lt begtns wttlr trust. You ean have a eornrntttee wtthout trust, brrt you can’! have a rrreantnghtl
relattonshtp wttlrout trust. Thtnk about the groups, eomrrrtttees or boards to whtoh you belong If there
ts someone tn that eomrrrtttee that you ,ust can't trust, the problem wtll vely ltkely be you. If you aren't
wrlltng to trust one another, any pereetverl sueeess wtll be short ltveel.

The next erttteal step tn rnatntatntng the relatronshtp ts good old tashton honesty and tntegrtty. If tt
needs to be satrl, say tt, but say it wttlr ktnelness. If you can't say tt wtth ktndness, don't say rt all If
you :an’I say tt so as to bulld the bndge, then what you are about to say ts above your pay grade Find
somunne who can mediate or facilitate Li’IQ lA~‘I.\C so as nut to [car down whal’~ already L‘~lilbihi\€d.

one of the most vttal oualtttes tor a strong and meantngrul relattonshtp, for lat-tngtng all stakeholders
together, even those who may not agree wtth you ts the ablllty to hsten wtth all your heart. This ktnd
of relattonshtp leqIIln:~ that our ltstentng go beyond rust words. we must eonneet emottonally wttlr
others to aeeompltsh what you are unable to aeeorrrpltsh alone. Ltstentng rntently to what the person ts
not saytng ts lusl as tmportant as ltstentng to what ts betng sard Rather than get frustrated at the tone
of value betng used, try to understand why they struggle getttng thetr message aeross. we want people
not only to hear what we say, but also to teel what we feel.

If we understand tlrts to be true, thetr how mueh rnore trrrportant ts tt that eaeh of us set the example for
ereattng the envtronment that allows all our stakeholders to be wtnners tn ereattng a tatrer and more
etteertye damage prevention program.

"lmpossrblel" you say Honestly, l dun’I know li trs posstble, l only know rt's neeessary.

LeI's be idulliiied as nne who is willing to wnrk lhmugh nur differences In achieve “IQ impossible.
The line starts here!

Rugcr cat
Pl'csirierlt‘
ACTS Now, Int
2019 Issue] Arkansas 511Mr:gr!1lrle . t