One pitch sets up the next is a phrase I have heard and used many times while coaching.

Before I finish this thought, though, I will share some of my week as the mayor of the best small town in America.

Recently, you may have noticed many out-of-town police cars in our community. The Seymour Police Department has worked with many different sources over the last few years to provide training for not just our department but for departments from around the state. The recent training on cyberbullying, sexting and appropriate consequences brought officers from 18 different departments with one traveling more than 200 miles to attend.

Thank you to Chief Bryant Lucas and SPD for using your resources to their fullest and allowing not just our department to improve but departments from across the state to improve their skills as well.

On a recent trip to a meeting out of town, I couldn’t help but notice the stark difference between our own small town and some of the areas I was driving through. As I traveled, I noticed buildings collapsing along the roadside and many properties in various later stages of disrepair.

As I would notice one, I would catch myself thinking about the side streets of Seymour and what looked similar or was even close to what I was seeing along major highways in other communities. Don’t worry, I could come up with a few quickly that are some of our worst, but what I could not find mentally was any as bad as these.

Yes, I didn’t forget the ones you are quickly thinking of, but they hailed in comparison to the weight of collapsing roofs bowing out what was left of the walls. I thought of some that we have recently managed to get removed along our main corridor and how even just those slight improvements have helped. Keep working, Seymour. We are getting better day by day, project by project, and even if we don’t realize it, it does show.

Remember in 2020 when Seymour had its only baby box delivery? Let me quickly catch you up on it. Late January 2020, shortly after the Safe Haven Baby Box being placed in service at Fire Station 3, a baby girl was surrendered. She was tended to within seconds of the door being closed and has since been adopted.

Recently, Seymour Fire Department Chief Brad Lucas received an email asking if the family could come for a visit — a visit she had as she returned to Station 3 to see the firemen who greeted her on her arrival a few years ago. She had a chance to visit with the family that worked so hard to provide the box she was left in. She put a smile on the faces of many during her short trip back to Seymour.

Happy birthday, young lady. May your future be as bright as the smiles you left at Station 3.

Back to those words from my time coaching. One pitch sets up the next. During a recent sporting event, I felt for an anthem singer as everything that could go wrong did. A sound system issue early flustered the singer and led to a misplaced word late and the crowd in full red, white and blue fashion jumped in to help sing it out.

The next night, the crowd was treated to one of my favorite anthem singers, Jim Cornelison, and his make-your-heart-pound, bring-it-on version.

Another way to think about it would be that one step leads to the next, even when some seem like a step back, such as when one young man set out to raise the funds for a baby box. Another community said no. Seymour accepted his donation and got it installed. Shortly after, a baby girl was surrendered. Now, we get to see her again years later and smile for days.

Each act of kindness built upon the previous. Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”