Big View By Chris Murphy This is that time of year when we reflect on last year and what we want to do differently this year. I think that as the Chinese will be celebrating the year of the Horse, Modesto should be celebrating the year of community. This is where we truly work to connect the dots to make our community better. There are so many giving and talented people here in town and if we all focus our energy on some key things, we can truly make a difference. ModestoView talks about Downtown Modesto a lot and there is a really good reason. Cities with healthy, vibrant and active downtowns are better community wide. There is a sense of family and connection that we share, when we all get together and see what our city can be. ModestoView is all about you, our amazing readers, community leaders and writers and we asked two simple questions as we try to find where our hopes and dreams connect. We can truly make Modesto a better community if we all work together.
Thanks for all of our dedicated readers and writers as you are the glue that will help our community stick together. Post your hopes and dreams at www.facebook.com/modestoview and www.modestoview.com
Here are an amazing selection of inspirational hopes and dreams from all across our community. It is up to us to make our life and the city that we want.
Kate Trompetter Center for Human Services In 2014 I want to continue to find more time for things that create physical health and emotional well being. I want more balance, more time with my family, more time to be creative, to read, to cook and exercise. I’m going to make it a great year. My hope for Modesto is two-part. Let’s continue to celebrate Modesto and celebrate each other. Also, I hope the generosity of spirit I’ve seen in people during the last couple months never goes away. People need people all year round. Cecil Russell – CEO Modesto Chamber of Commerce My personal goal is to develop and open a Graffiti Museum that will showcase our city’s heritage and be a catalyst for reinvigorating our downtown. lead the Chamber and its volunteer resources in a way that will enable us to partner with the City of Modesto to find solutions to help the city regain control of its finances so that our citizens can receive the services that a vibrant city, like Modesto, should provide.
My hope for the community is that the City of Modesto regain control of its finances so that our citizens can receive the services that a vibrant city, like Modesto, should provide. I hope that the City will partner with community organizations, like the Modesto Chamber, on issues like ways to balance the city’s budget so that all of our collective resources can work together to find solutions that will benefit the entire community.
Josh Bridegroom – Modesto Planning Department So, when Modesto View asked me to come up with a personal hope or dream for 2014 and a hope or dream for the community in 2014, I realized that these are one and the same:
I want to be a part of making downtown Modesto the most amazing place it can be! Over the course of the last two years, I’ve been collaborating with a broad cross-section of the community to develop a program to do just that. I believe that any limitation is self-imposed; there is no limit to what can be accomplished when we work together!!
Michaela Salsman, Patterson CA; age 9 Personal Dream: “I hope that one day to take voice lessons and become a singer so that I can make people happy.” For the community, “I hope that all of the students in Patterson realize that education is important and always try their best.”
Monica Barber Personal Dream/Goal: To have my family completely together as a whole & start my business in Modesto successfully. Hope: I hope that the Modesto community only gets bigger & better in 2014 filled more positive events happening!
Mary Layton Modesto street music. Modesto street arts and crafts. Like on Telegraph ave. in Berkeley. Safe outside places for people to gather to hang out and have fun, socialize. Long time ago we used to go to the Lotus flower farm out on McHenry, It’s closed now but it felt like an oasis and a cultural gem. There were some 250 different kinds of beautiful lotus flowers. You could walk around or sit by a large pond. The Asian artifacts made you feel like you were in China. I wish I could go to one of those big barns and learn basket weaving. Doing large creative projects on a volunteer basis Having outside dances like in the good old days Wish there was a spring festival so we don’t have to sweat so much.. Wish we had better air. Wished we had better public transportation, an airporter bus at least.
Jim Christiansen Am hoping to do a showing of my art out of town this year. And I want the State Theatre, Prospect Theater Project and Center Stage Conservatory and Art Walk to prosper.
Lynn Dickerson My personal goal is for my son to finish his education and find meaningful and fulfilling work that brings him joy and satisfaction My community hope is for continued economic rebound, good jobs for our citizens and a beautiful, thriving downtown Modesto ( with the Gallo Center in the middle of it!)
Our hope for 2014 is that we all continue in the best of health and that all of our local talented artist dreams come true. We love you all, Efren & Natalie Martinez
John Black This year I’m going to be careful not to let my ego outpace my intentions. Wise man once said: The higher up the ladder the baboon goes, the more his rear end will show.
I hope that downtown Modesto becomes an even better place to operate businesses, where folks come and bring their families to shop, dine and experience the arts . That we continue to work towards this goal and maybe together with all the king’s horses and all the king’s men we can finds way put our least understood citizens back together again.
Personal Dream: Taylor Salsman, Patterson, CA age 7 1/2 “I dream that one day I will go to a good college and learn a lot of things so that I can help other children.”
“I hope for our community that people get better at helping each other and being nice to each other so that we can have a stronger community in Patterson”
Jessica Moilanen I have a lot to look forward to in 2014. I recently graduated from CSU Stanislaus, so in 2014, my personal dream is to attend graduate school, possibly in Southern California, or back East. I will also embrace the opportunities that come my way and will not let fear or uncertainty step in my way. For my community, I want to see unity. I want people to set aside their differences and support each other throughout the community in any way that is needed.
Jeff Cipriano Personal Dream- Is to have Jaunt Adventure Gear become a thriving business where our community could get their outdoor needs met.
Hopes for the community- Is to see our community take pride in where we live. To take back our parks, so our families can feel safe. And make our local rivers a place where our community could go for recreation.
Leahlulu Leah Tamez. Hopes and Dreams 1. Personal Dreams… to continue to grow and reach the goals I’ve set for myself. To make my personal life happier. 2. Hopes for the community… hopes for our fast growing community that everyone continues to grow together and make Modesto a happy family oriented area to live in.
My goal is too shoot more,create more art and share it as many as I can..or shoot for Rolling Stone..:)
My continue hope for the community is to laugh more, love more and be kind more to everyone.. Michael J Photography & Design
Ellen Burchett Personal Dream – I hope that 2014 sees me branching out in my volunteering, whether it is personally lifting up people I know or giving to the community at large. With a pregnancy and now two small kids, 2013 saw me focused on myself and my family, and I am hoping to re-broaden my view for 2014.
Hope for the Community – I hope that 2014 sees Modesto focused on positive change in our community. Each time that someone posts a positive Facebook status or picks up a piece of trash, tells a friend about a new show or retweets a positive message about Modesto, we collectively change our attitude for the better. The more positive energy / words we put out there, the more positively people act.
Kaye Osborn My hope for our community is that more people learn American Sign Language and provide qualified interpreters for theatrical productions.
My personal goal for 2014 is to embrace each day with smiles, kind words and exercise daily!
Earl Matthews My goal for next year is to travel to as many states as possible, if I could hit the number 20, I would be thrilled. I would like to see live music in Modesto be more well known, both locally and nationally. Kind of a mission statement for me.
Marian Kaanon I turn 40 in 2014, so it’s a big year for me. My personal goal is to continue nurturing the many amazing relationships in my life. As a mom, my main goal is to help my kids achieve their own goals: whether that’s acing a spelling test or mustering up the courage to swing off the monkey bars.
My hope for the community in 2014 and beyond is that we continue collaborating and working together, even among setbacks, even when facing detractors or long odds. The spirit of collaboration is more important than ever before, as our challenges are increasingly complex and require many of us to come to the table and get to work.
Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll My personal goal for 2014 is to be a better husband and friend. Too often I get wrapped up in the day to day living as well as shifting into work mode that I don’t let those closest to me know how much they mean to me.
My hope for the community is the numerous community groups currently working on individual projects come together as one large voice and force for positive change in our city.
Kenni Friedman Personal Goal: To be the preeminent Boys & Girls Club where we can showcase how we offer our youth an opportunity to reach their full potential
Community Hope: To gather community members to chart a plan for the future and to print the report in ModestoView, December 2014
Kathy Molina 2014 is going to be a special year for me, since I will be turning 40. Since I am a Yankees fan, a personal dream is to be at the Yankees game, in New York City, on my birthday. My hope for the community is simple, more people smiling. Amazing things can happen when you smile.
Keith Boggs Personal Goal Atop my lengthy personal goals list for 2014 is to try and convince one of our local art galleries to allow me a small showing of my multi-medium art. It has been several years since I last showed my work and I am very proud of how it continues to evolve.
Community Goal I would hope that the City and County would continue to build upon our strong, open and inclusive working relationships through 2014. Each of us share so many common goals and our objectives remain intertwined on so many key issues. We can get there from here.
Dana Johnson My personal hopes/dreams for Dana~licious in 2014: More air time on FOX40 News and fill my calendar with my growing business doing private in-home local cooking parties, book one today! Community goal for Dana~licious in 2014… continue to support local restaurants that rely on our patronage to keep their doors open and our mouths happy! In the words of my handicapped daughter Amanda “Happy New You!”
Buddha Tury A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere. As my great hope is to laugh and cry; to find peace in within us and to be healthy and fit. Peace be to all and Happy New Years!!!!
