Grays Harbor 2020:

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE GRAYS HARBOR

What is a “Sustainable” Grays Harbor?

The word sustainable is defined in an infinite number of ways. A concept that is frequently associated with the environmental movement, it is also common parlance in business, education and just about everywhere else.  For the purposes of Grays Harbor 2020, or specifically, “Building a sustainable Grays Harbor,” sustainable signifies the “end result” or overarching target for all planning efforts.  It is a future way of life, where jobs, environmental integrity, social networks, infrastructure, educational and cultural opportunities and other quality of life factors – as a whole – are not held hostage to the fate of a handful of industries or people.

Sustainable means reviewing, adjusting, supporting and sometimes pushing local programs and initiatives so that they perform well today, and are prepared for tomorrow.  It directs us to engage a full spectrum of citizens and interests and, through earned trust, secure their long-term investment in a singular “sense of place” not just for themselves, but for the generations that follow.  It means balance, where decisions in one area are related to, or at least cognizant of, implications for another.  It means security, whether it be personal safety, investment confidence or family-building.

It means that we have taken the time to shape our own future, rather that just letting it happen to us.