Nobody Kicks a Dog When It's Down

Dale Carnegie tells the story of a young man who, at the tender age of 30, became a Congressman for his home state. The newspaper and pundits of the day were outraged and the young representative was skewered in the press for being “too young for the job.”

At the press conference announcing his election, a neighbor to the new Congressman found himself standing next to the boys’ father. He mentioned he had read the terrible things the reporters had written about his son.

The father answered, “Yes, it was severe. But, my son knows, nobody kicks a dog when it’s down.”

What a great attitude.

In one fell swoop, this father acknowledged others were allowed to have their opinions and were welcome to express them, but his son knew public pressure shouldn’t sway him from his path. It could even be inferred that success and criticism go hand-in-hand.

We certainly know this to be true in the public agency world. Don’t we? How many spray parks (or playgrounds, bike parks, trails, rec centers, etc.) have we opened to rave reviews from end users and a few sharp criticisms from those who think it should have been designed differently, funded differently, located in a different place?

Probably all of them. And that’s Ok. It’s the price of success.

Each year in our December issue, this issue, we pause and take a moment to celebrate those courageous souls who charge forward and execute their visions—ultimately making our communities better places to work, play and live.

You can view a selection of these completed projects in our Project Portfolio—a photo gallery of sorts of some cool projects that were completed this past year.

In addition, we’ve hand-selected articles that show the diversity of cool, dare I say courageous, ideas percolating through the park world—things like preserving a lighthouse, using a food truck to service a larger audience of park patrons, and updating a community’s 70-acre park to meet the needs of a growing population.

All-in-all, I believe it’s a nice way to end the year. I hope you agree.

If you do, or if you don’t, let us know.

Merry Christmas!

Rodney J. Auth

Publisher