By Lisa Resnick
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – I once heard a great analogy by one of my favorite authors, Melody Warnick, when she came to Youngstown a few years ago. People in the audience were complaining, saying that sidewalk chalk drawings and community events don’t solve the problems of jobs and crime.
Warnick’s response was spot on. “You can’t pitch a tent without all sides being raised and secured,” she said.
This has been my attitude about all things in life. Being positive does not mean you don’t see the problems. Rather, it gives you the ability to be more open to resolve them.
I’ve been hosting “The Real T,” a video segment posted every Thursday at BusinessJournalDaily.com for the past couple of months.
I’ll never forget when Abby Masluk called about her opportunity in Pittsburgh. She had poured her heart into this video segment hosted by The Business Journal and wanted to ensure it continued. When she asked me to succeed her, I did not take her request lightly. I was honored and committed to continue what Abby had created.
Part of that is ensuring that every guest on “The Real T” is not only affecting real estate in our region but also doing something significant to better our community economically, actively and socially.
From Art Daly of Eastern Gateway Community College to Don Thomas of Platz Realty, just to name two recent guests, these market leaders are making tremendous strides to improve the Mahoning Valley.
My goal is to provide viewers with knowledge of what’s happening to transform our area and spark the next entrepreneurs in business, in education and in real estate. And to provide the scoop on how these leaders go about achieving their goals, to give people something positive and to redirect the conversation that we so often hear about the Mahoning Valley nationally.
Recently, Bloomberg News published an article regarding the emerging industries in the Valley, such as additive manufacturing/3D printing. The article begins with the standard information we’ve heard before – we were decimated by the steel mills closing in the late 1970s and early 1980s and have been struggling ever since. Politicians have come and gone, making promises they can’t keep. The article ended by asking whether the promise of emerging industries would do the same (implying they will, just because they always do).
That may have been the case 35 years ago. No longer is it our story. In real estate, an appraisal is the value of your property on that day. Not how much it was worth years ago.
The same holds true for the value of our Mahoning Valley.
On every platform, I take the opportunity to talk about all the good happening in the Valley. These platforms include one-on-one conversations with my clients in real estate, to “Walk the Valley,” a campaign that I conduct to promote active living and connections with the community, to my “Homes and Hops” podcast, conversations about our hometowns and where they are going, enjoyed over local craft beer, and now “The Real T” on BusinessJournalDaily.com. We should all be doing the same.
Our story should not be based on tragedies that occurred five decades ago. There is too much positive change, so much entrepreneurship and strategic thinking to be tied down with what others view as our permanent albatross.
Our story is ours to direct and command and I look forward to hosting “The Real T” – to provide ways for the Valley to hear, see and touch the tangible change and positive energy happening; to showcase all those who are a part of it.
As Walt Disney said, “It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell.”
The author, Lisa Resnick, is a Youngstown native who lived in Washington D.C. for a decade before moving back home five years ago. She is a real estate agent at Burgan Friedkin Commercial Group LLC. Watch “The Real T” at BusinessJournalDaily.com/category/the-real-t/