Being In Community

The word "community" is often used to flippantly describe a specific locality but to me it means so much more.  Community invokes within me a sense of belonging, and as Dictionary.com describes it, an opportunity to share "common characteristics or interests".

On Saturday I truly felt part of a community, the Suisun City Community.  I spent the day at the Kroc Center's first annual Spring Fling with people who share a common interest.  Seeing the doors of the Kroc Center swing open for its grand debut was clearly the interest common to everyone who attended Saturday's event.  In time you will realize that opening the doors of the Kroc Center is very much at the forefront of my mind and I would argue that nobody wants the doors open more than I.   But, there was something far more important taking place Saturday.  

Without a building like the Kroc Center in which to commune we tend to become a little more resourceful.  We learn to appreciate what we do have and community becomes more about spending time with people of common interests and characteristics than swimming pools and fitness equipment.  Don't get me wrong, such amenities will abound at the Kroc Center.  Opportunity to once again swim in the pools that look out over the beauty of Hall Park and the attractive landscaping that will soon enhance it have a special allure for so many.  But what will take place around the high top tables in the cafe and the roaring fire in the lounge will I believe will ultimately be acknowledged as just as important.        

You see I was struck Saturday by a group of ladies who kindly allowed me to sit and visit with them at some length.  We conversed, shared dreams, discussed important matters and laughed all in the same encounter.  That's community, and that’s one of the many things I look forward to seeing daily at the Kroc Center.         

While some may be disappointed that the opening of the Kroc Center is still a number of months away, even without a building we were able to be a community.  We came together because we shared a common interest, "fun".  The building will be magnificent.  Its state-of-the-art fitness equipment, its gorgeous "park view" pools, the rockwall, group exercise rooms, community meeting spaces, computer lab, craft room and auditorium (just to name a few) will be spectacular.  It will be finished with meticulous attention to detail, maintained to a level of unparalleled cleanliness and programmed with quality as the highest priority, all  in an effort to make the member experience the best possible.  I pray however that we never forget the importance of spending time and being in community with each other.  I look forward with anticipation to many more "community encounters" like those I experienced today and to many more opportunities to enjoy time with my new Suisun City friends.