Final Thoughts

I just returned from 10 days in Connecticut.

Most of this edition was written and researched there. My conversations with elected officials and staff were done by telephone. Since so much business is done that way, does it matter whether I am sitting in Stuart or someplace else to have them?

To a large extent, reporting in many organizations is done that way…sitting in a home office or a newsroom to listen to and watch feeds or meetings. But for the most part, the reporters haven’t taken the time to learn about the men and women who are in government and what motivates them.

I often go to lunch with people 3 or 4 times per week. You learn much when you share a meal with someone. You talk about their kids and their vacations. What we are doing at our homes. You begin to develop friendships which means you develop trust.

You can be the best researcher or government expert there is, but without that deeper understanding, you may miss why things happen. You don’t understand a person’s motivation behind something they are doing. But as someone who reports and comments, that doesn’t mean you pull punches.

I have strict rules about what is on and off the record. If someone says something in public, it is fair game. If I say we need to go on the record, what is said is also fair game. Yet most of what I hear stays with me and goes no further. And I do not deviate from those few simple rules.

It was nice to have a change of scenery. Though for most of my time away, I just traded one desk in a room for another. The temperature hit 90 degrees or above everyday which is not much different than here.

Yet for the purposes of Friends & Neighbors, being as close to my subjects the better.

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Friends and Neighbors of Martin County is your eyes and ears so that you know what is going on in Martin County’s municipal and county governments. I attempt to be informative and timely so that you may understand how your tax money is being spent. Though I go to the meetings and report back, I am no substitute for your attending meetings. Your elected officials should know what is on your mind.

Tom Campenni 772-341-7455 (c) Email: thomasfcampenni@gmail.com