One of the things that are really great about small communities is their ability to come together and support one another. This past weekend I went to a surf competition and it was a perfect example of how a geographic community can come together to support a community of culture. There were advertisements on the radio, numerous articles in the paper, local restaurants had signs that said “welcome surfers,” and there was an all around general excitement around town for the annual event.
While at the beach watching the surfers, I couldn’t help but think about how in other more populated parts of the county one would have to pay money just to walk on the beach and how lucky I was to live in a part of the world that is so beautiful. According to Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, “Citizen participation…generates a sense of belonging to the community and gives ownership of the community to all members” (Scales, Streeter, 2004, p. 55). I could see how this is community pride is encouraged by events such as these because they are positive and memorable, which makes people proud to be apart of. The event was very family-friendly and all ages were able to compete. My favorite part of the competition was when a father and daughter went out together and the dad held his daughter up in the air as they surfed. Everyone watching on the beach clapped.
The people who put on the event are a family who owns a surf stop in town. Many other local businesses also sponsored the event, but the one thing I really appreciated was the fact that the family’s main competitor, another surf shop, also sponsored the event. Thus they were supporting a competitor in order to support surfing in general. I thought that was commendable. As said in Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, “Solidarity, rather than competition and conflict, is what permits individuals to maintain and expand community assets by sharing common values, goals, and institutions” (Scales, Streeter, 2004, p. 56).
SURF’S UP!
They come, escaping the burnt-out
City air, board-wraps
Trailing from Amtrak doors, carrying
Glassine envelopes, precious
Invitations to the sea
Of sanity, welcomed by beach people
With joyous shouts, Surf’s Up!
The cry of life begins again,
And ends in a paddle-out with friends
That circles all our hearts to one.
Ray Clark Dickson
While at the beach watching the surfers, I couldn’t help but think about how in other more populated parts of the county one would have to pay money just to walk on the beach and how lucky I was to live in a part of the world that is so beautiful. According to Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, “Citizen participation…generates a sense of belonging to the community and gives ownership of the community to all members” (Scales, Streeter, 2004, p. 55). I could see how this is community pride is encouraged by events such as these because they are positive and memorable, which makes people proud to be apart of. The event was very family-friendly and all ages were able to compete. My favorite part of the competition was when a father and daughter went out together and the dad held his daughter up in the air as they surfed. Everyone watching on the beach clapped.
The people who put on the event are a family who owns a surf stop in town. Many other local businesses also sponsored the event, but the one thing I really appreciated was the fact that the family’s main competitor, another surf shop, also sponsored the event. Thus they were supporting a competitor in order to support surfing in general. I thought that was commendable. As said in Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, “Solidarity, rather than competition and conflict, is what permits individuals to maintain and expand community assets by sharing common values, goals, and institutions” (Scales, Streeter, 2004, p. 56).
SURF’S UP!
They come, escaping the burnt-out
City air, board-wraps
Trailing from Amtrak doors, carrying
Glassine envelopes, precious
Invitations to the sea
Of sanity, welcomed by beach people
With joyous shouts, Surf’s Up!
The cry of life begins again,
And ends in a paddle-out with friends
That circles all our hearts to one.
Ray Clark Dickson
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