Without pride, you can’t have full potential

Last issue I said I’d talk more about Pride. In particular, Seymour Pride. One of the many reasons I’ve gotten to really love this place is partially due to the pride. The businesses that take pride in their work, their products and even their appearance and the pride local residents have. Take for example, Bobby White, the owner of Round Up Truck Sales. Before he moved in to the property he demolished the existing building, paved the property and built facilities to fit his needs. The building, property and his inventory are clean and neat. I asked him why he decided to move the Truck business to the first traffic light coming to Seymour. He said after he sold White’s Hardware he opened up a truck lot next to it for five years. Then a friend talked him into moving to Sevierville. “I’m a Seymour person, have been for fifty eight years, so when the property became available here I jumped at the chance to move back to Seymour.” I asked him about the exceptional appearance of his business. He responded, “I don’t know about you, but I spend 90% of my time at work, and since I spend most of my time here I might as well make it desirable.” Just across the street from Round-Up Truck Sales is the new Snuffy’s Discount Tobacco. They moved into the building that was occupied by Cycle One. You wouldn’t recognize the place. No oil or grease on the floor. You wouldn’t believe you were in the same place. Nice new carpets, fresh paint in and out, custom designed signs, and a welcome feeling. Have you been to the Kitchen Cupboard yet, located on Chapman Hwy, next to Food City? They are in the old bookstore building that burned last year. Very nice. Speaking of burned, who doesn’t remember Bob’s Mountaineer Restaurant burning? Bob didn’t have to rebuild as quick as he did. Most people speculated that he would sell the property and move to Arizona. Instead, he and his family jumped in with both feet practically the next day and started to rebuild. He went all out too. He didn’t have to but he did. What about the pride of EZ Stop? I’m told they use to be just a regular gas station. Why do you think they made the nice new appearance that they did? Or what about Olde City Subs and Pizza? New and clean with an inviting look. How about Karaoke Café? I’d say you’d have to go to Las Vegas, Los Angeles or New York to find the caliber of designing techniques used by Debi Stovall, who has a unique flair and talent for decorating, not to mention business. Those are just few of the businesses I used as examples because they are the first to come to mind. But you can go up and down Chapman Hwy., Boyds Creek, and Hwy 411 in Seymour and see similar pride. Most would think the businesses are making good appearances to gain more business. That’s partially true. But not completely. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at parts of Downtown Knoxville. Run-down buildings, hard to get to entrances, questionable merchandise. Don’t you think businesses everywhere aren’t interested in more income? In my opinion, the motivation of pride is the key ingredient. Without pride, you can’t have full potential. That also reminds me of how proud people are when they tell me they live in Seymour. It’s like their chest swells up and you can see the beam in their eyes. And honestly, that is also why we at The Seymour Herald are working to provide the residents of Seymour a product they can be proud of. We sincerely hope you are proud of our work.