Ah neen! I am glad to see changes in our community such as buildings going up, new homes and dirt being moved. Our roads are using the gravel we are crushing so that is good and the crusher, obviously, is working well. There is a lot of work in the area of housing, and commitments that still need to be completed.

Sometimes when we reach the goals that we have set out, we wonder what is next. That is where I am as we have reached many goals and now I am wondering what is next. It is exciting to think we can achieve accomplishments together so it leads me to think that there is nothing; that we cannot do together. We have done quite a lot in the last few years. We have our own people to thank for it, we stuck to the community’s needs to hire our own, and it is slower but more satisfying. We have done so much that we have even surpassed our affiliates and that felt good since it gave us a choice. When we reach a goal, we cannot lose focus but to go onto the next goal.

Our community needs to have some good land use plans. We need to plan for our housing, plan for our businesses and plan for community buildings. We also need to plan what kind of employment do we need that will sustain us long after we are gone. We need our young people to be educated with at least some post secondary education. Our community can use cultural and knowledgeable brains that benefit our people and community.

We need young people that know our treaty, culture, and language as we need that to sustain our future. In addition, I see the world getting more complicated with technology; our community needs to compete in some way. I understand that it is difficult to complete one goal because in my first year in leadership it was difficult to even know where to begin. Start with one goal but which goal do I need to focus on, these were some of the questions in my mind. Even though I was on Council before, being the Chief was different, now I was the decision maker. Not only did I have to make decisions for my community but others as well because I sat on different committees. Information is critical to making good decisions and even if you have the critical information, you make bad decisions but you admit it, then you move on. I noticed that having a plan and working within that plan makes for good decisions and provides focus. Therefore, I am glad that our Council and I work together to keep our community moving, making continuous plans, and try to commit to finishing them. Our community is worth building!

My overall message to the community is “thank you, as it is the ‘we’ and not the ‘I’ concept, but the team effort that we will continue to succeed, and prosper. As always, I thank the community, elders, and employees for their continued support, encouragement, and prayers. Thank you to my biggest support: my wife and family.