The most striking story for me was when we presented to the Caddo Parish School Board in hopes of purchasing the vacant Arthur Circle School.

On the other hand, it may be more appropriate to look at our community with the attitude of “glass halffull.” Within the last year, Amazon announced a large distribution center, and the legislature has allocated money to renovate a previous federal courthouse for use as an office building for state workers in downtown Shreveport.

When we are in the midst of a surge of the COVID virus, it is hard to think about the possibility of the epidemic’s end, but we should. It is very transmissible and less virulent. The Omicron variant will likely be important in shortening the length of the epidemic.

Mayor Perkins and city department leaders of Shreveport have spent their evenings over the last month holding community meetings and listening to individual citizens express their vision for Shreveport. The sessions sought citizen input on the best use of money from the federal government to city governments after the pandemic.

I saw a billboard on a trip to Texas to see my grandchildren with the word “freedom” beside a picture of someone taking off their mask. It certainly is a thought shared by many. However, the most accurate picture depicting freedom in this pandemic is a picture of someone receiving the vaccine.

An African proverb reads, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” This is the foundation of “Connect” – a Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce initiative to build communication and trust between business, government, non-profit and education leadership in our community.