A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

This song became popular during my high school years at Holmes High School. Fred McFreely Rogers, known professionally as Mr. Rogers, was an American television personality, Presbyterian minister and writer. He created and hosted a show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, that aired from 1968 to 2001.

When I think of Covington, the city of my youth and much of my adult life, I think of a neighborhood. In my case, it was Latonia, but the longer I lived here I realized Covington is composed of 19 district neighborhoods, ranging from several hundred to 10,000 people.

I am writing to you because somewhere in my journey we have shared a neighborhood and I considered you my neighbor. And as most of you already know, I have stepped into a new, different opportunity for my future. On January 9, 2026, I decided to run for City Council of my city, my neighborhood!

So, what caused this decision you ask? Well, whether it was my life of service as a pastor or having been knee-deep in community happenings the last 20 years, it finally came down to a long quote from one of my favorite presidents, Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
- “Citizenship in a Republic,” Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

I know that sounds but dramatic, but honestly, it has been a guiding light in much of my life. I have always been an “arena” guy. I guess now, I just want to be a “neighbor!”

For the next several months, this newsletter is my humble attempt to communicate with fellow members of my community. Please send a reply if you have any questions. If the content isn’t your cup of tea, you can unsubscribe below.