Tracy Souza
On Dec. 3, 2022, Heritage Fund dodged a bullet – or, more accurately, a fire.
The blaze at the neighboring Irwin Block Building on Fifth Street brought back memories of the Christmas Eve fire that consumed the United Way Center in 2009. At that time, Doug Otto was president of United Way, and I was at Cummins. We spoke briefly on Christmas Day and agreed to meet first thing the next morning to figure out a plan.
Long story short, and thanks to fantastic email networking with senior Cummins officers, Doug and I were able to secure space at Plant 1 for the nonprofits that were suddenly without offices, computers, meeting spaces and other things they desperately needed to serve their clients. Those nonprofits were open for business within days and did an amazing job of continuing to offer help and assistance.
That was a big win for collaboration, partnership and good old-fashioned working together. It was also a win for seeing possibilities despite disaster. The United Way building was rebuilt and appropriately named the Doug Otto Center. It is a much-improved worksite from its predecessor.
Turning to the more recent fire, I can’t help but think about the possibilities that might come to be on that site. It is clear that downtown Columbus has not fully returned to its pre-pandemic status. It does, however, remain the heart and soul of the community. Can we use this disaster to create possibility for the downtown? Will we be able to look back in four or five years and say that the community came together to create something even better?
A new year is always a good time to ponder questions like: What kind of community do we want to be?What can we do today that will make this community be where our children and grandchildren want to live, learn, work and play? What can we do today to attract other families and businesses to relocate or perhaps remain here when they could work from anywhere?
The Heritage Fund Board of Directors will be wrestling with those questions and others as we work toward creating a successful community where everyone achieves their greatest quality of life.
Tracy Souza is president and CEO of Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. Contact the fund at 812-376-7772 to learn more about how they can help you do “Your Philanthropy. Your Way.” Send comments to [email protected].
