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Friday, September 07, 2012

Friday night lights - times two.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

This past Friday, I went to the Milton/Alpharetta high home opener after Alpharetta’s Mayor David Belle Isle and I issued the “Mayor’s Challenge,” with the losing mayor having to serve lunch at the winning school. I’m happy to announce Milton won 35-28 in a nail biter of a game, so make sure to stop by Milton when Mayor Belle Isle does his time (though, to be fair, David did let me know he was torn because he has residents in both schools). Also, the city and school received a great trophy for the win!

As you can tell, there’s a lot happening in Milton now on Friday nights during the fall. We’ve got two high schools for the first time in the city. And I’ve got to tell you, every time I’ve been to the new Cambridge High, the atmosphere is fantastic – a lot of really happy, really excited people thrilled to be on the ground floor of what are destined to be great traditions.

I’ve been a fixture at Milton High for the past few years because my daughter graduated in 2009 and my son is now a senior. My youngest is set to go there next year, and I’m interested to see how the City of Milton adapts to the second.

Will there be a cross-town rivalry in sports, music, drama or academics? Only time will tell, but I really hope something fun develops. Think about how great Milton vs. Roswell has been historically. Now we’ve got Milton vs. Alpharetta, too. And don’t forget about Johns Creek, Chattahoochee, Centennial or Northview.

These are the types of things we take with us in our travels – the formative experiences of growing up in towns all across America. Whether it’s the football games on Friday nights, or the fall festivals, or the parks and gyms where we played, as we go forward in life we bring with us the cheer and camaraderie we learned from these experiences.

That’s probably the best thing about being mayor – being a part of these experiences as they come to fruition and watching the result of everyone’s hard work. Getting to know the people that make them happen -- from the coaches and educators and organizers who plan and execute the events, to the business owners who sponsor the fun, to the volunteers who make sure everyone has a good time – that’s the best part, hands down.

At the end of the day, all these things happen simply because a group of people will them to be. In Milton, we enjoy an abundance of community activities and events because we’ve got caring people who put in hours before work, after work, even sometimes during work (just don’t tell the boss) to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. And that’s a beautiful thing.

It means the rest of us can forget about deadlines and contracts and all the rest of daily life and just spend a few hours with friends, watching the first football game of the season.

And that, my friends, is what life is all about.

Sincerely,
Mayor Joe Lockwood

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