Lake Wales Connected Construction Launched With a Flourish

Remarks by Rusty Ingley

Ingley's Inspiring Speech Cited "Love" as Ingredient of Project

Rusty Ingley, Lake Wales Main Street

Good evening everyone,

Thank you for being here tonight. Your presence here at this event tells me that

you care about your community, and you want better for our Lake Wales

community.

Four years ago, I stood in this very location to help rally the community around the

idea of revitalizing our downtown. This idea had resurfaced from time to time, but

had never gained the community support necessary to move forward. An idea

considered by some to be a BHAG (or a big harry audacious goal). An idea

considered by many to be just downright wishful thinking.

I have to admit, looking back, I can see why people would have thought that. Big

ideas can be daunting, overwhelming, and hard to execute. Working together as a

group is not always easy. Matter of fact, it can be tough. Especially, when there

was a contingent of people that didn’t see the sense in a redesign of downtown.

People that could not see a future for Lake Wales any different from the one that

existed before them.

However, there was a group of people who did believe in the value of redeveloping

our Lake Wales downtown. They were doing their homework and putting in hours

of research to understand communities and urban design. They talked with the

experts and visited other successful communities. Sooner or later, this group began

to see a vision of a prosperous and vibrant downtown community. A community

where people could live, work and play. A community that would attract outside

investment and would create a rising tide for all ships. A vision that could inspire a

community to get behind a big idea. What’s more, this group was just naive

enough to think they could make it happen. This group was Lake Wales Main

Street (under the leadership of Karen Thompson) and their dedication and

perseverance is a testament to why we are standing here today.

Please give them a round of applause.

Just as important, I’d like to thank all of the people responsible for making this

project come to life.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you, the community, for showing up and

supporting this project. Showing up is half the battle. Having your input and

support gave this idea legs and brought the whole thing to life.

Additionally, this plan would not be nearly what it is today without the direction of

Victor Dover and the talented staff at Dover Kohl and Partners. They are

responsible for creating the inspirational vision of “lake Wales connected” and “a

city in a garden.” A plan that honors our past and connects it to a bright and

beautiful future.

I’d also like to thank the fine folks at S&ME and the team at Catalyst that took

Dover Kohl’s idea, dove into the details, and brought it to life.

I’d like to thank the various city commissioners that caught the vision for this

project, supported and adopted it, and allocated the proper funding to insure that it

will be implemented to the highest standards.

Last and not least, a lot of credit goes to the city staff that has worked tirelessly to

implement this plan and help turn this dream into a reality.

Please give them all a round of applause.

Today I want to leave you with a thought. I heard a quote once that stated, “Love is

in the details.” This quote really resonated with me and guides me every day. You

see, it's the details that can transform the mundane into the extraordinary.

For example, as we speak, my kitchen at home is being remodeled. Our kitchen is

being transformed from a very boring and basic kitchen into a bright an airy oasis

in the middle of our home. A place that I would put an easy chair and spend time.

But this didn’t happen by accident. My wife (Carrie) deliberated over each and

every detail of this kitchen, the lighting, the materials, the finishes, and everything

else all the way down to the exact measurement and placement of the cabinets.

This mattered to her, so she dove into the details and created a kitchen that truly

stands out from the rest. Her love can be seen all over that kitchen.

This phrase especially hits home for me when we discuss the complexities of this

plan and the path it took to get here. The group of people that put this plan together

helped turn the mundane into the extraordinary. When designing cities and

communities, it's easy to focus on the big picture: the layout of streets, the

placement of buildings, and the allocation of open spaces. And while these are

certainly important elements, it's the small details that truly make a place feel like

home.

The folks that collaborated on this plan have taken a functional space and turned it

into a place that is designed with community in mind.

Maybe it will be the bench in the park where you sit and read a book. Not just any

bench, but a bench that someone cared about enough to say, “hey, maybe we can

do better?” That little detail went to the drawing board and the end result is a bench

with a custom-designed silhouette of an oak tree on the arms of the chair. Only

found in Lake Wales.

Maybe it will be the brick covering our downtown streets. This is a huge detail that

will not go unnoticed. We could have easily paved over these streets, but brick

streets tell a story. A story that tells you that you have arrived somewhere

special…somewhere old with a past. As you may or may not know, old places are

deeply beneficial to people because of the way they give us a sense of continuity,

identity and belonging, because they inspire us with awe, beauty and sacredness,

because they tell us about history, ancestry and learning.

Last, maybe it’s the tree-lined streets that will stand out in your mind. These trees

will connect us to our past via the original works of Olmstead. They will welcome

visitors and provide pedestrians with shade and protection from the elements.

As we move forward, these details will tell our community, visitors, and investors

that this place is special. It will tell them that our community cares enough to make

it a bit better or more beautiful because we have lived in it. These decisions will

certainly bear fruit in the downtown economy.

These details may seem small, but they have a significant impact on the quality of

life in our communities. They encourage people to spend time outside, to connect

with their neighbors and with nature. They foster a sense of belonging and a sense

of pride in where we live.

So as we think about this space and today’s groundbreaking, let's not forget the

importance of the details and all of the love that went into each and every one of

these decisions. It's the small touches that make a place truly special, and it's these

touches that will make our city and community thrive.