Success starts with great dreams

Writer Paula D’Arcy believes that too rarely in life do “we give ourselves over to that which demands greatness.”

But those who strive for greatness at the civic level change communities in ways subtle and drastic. We’ve had some good examples from the past year.

The organizers of First Night, for instance, dreamed a big dream several years ago. Wouldn’t it be neat if the streets of downtown Spokane were jammed with partygoers – minus the alcohol – on New Year’s Eve? First Night was a logistics challenge, all those people, all those venues. But the organizers pulled it off and Friday’s rendition was shaping up to be the best yet.

Walt and Karen Worthy’s vision of a restored Davenport Hotel became reality two years ago. The hotel continues to attract newcomers and old-timers, all hungry for old-fashioned elegance in the middle of bustling modern life. Before the restoration, the aging Davenport stood out like a grim reminder of Spokane’s hard times.

This year, another downtown Spokane building, the Metropolitan Financial Center, was at risk of being relegated to that grim white-elephant zone. After Metropolitan declared bankruptcy, Worthy bought the 17-story white tower. Then, he leased a good deal of the space to Wells Fargo, a San-Francisco-based bank that few realized was growing so big here. Now it will have as its Spokane headquarters a building that matches its potential.

In Coeur d’Alene, Duane Hagadone dreamed big yet again this year. He proposed a 3.4-acre garden in downtown Coeur d’Alene. In honor of his parents, he envisioned a memorial garden of exotic flowers and plants, an oasis of peace and beauty interrupting the speed of modern life.

As Coeur d’Alene’s City Council finalized plans for a citizen advisory vote on the proposal to close city streets to make room for the garden, Hagadone pulled his idea off the table. Sometimes, big plans don’t make it into reality in exactly the way envisioned. That’s OK, too. Perhaps Hagadone would be willing to drive that garden idea 32 miles to the west. Surely, there are 3.4 acres in downtown Spokane where the garden could bloom into reality.

Dozens of other civic leaders and activists dreamed big and worked toward those dreams in 2004, thereby changing our Inland Northwest communities in ways that might not become evident right away. Some of it happened in small meetings in community centers and garnered little or no publicity. Other dreams made front-page news.

Those who give themselves over to greatness on the civic level will tell you that to survive, you must disguise your thin skin in a thick one and tilt at windmills without losing your balance. And the praise, if it comes, might not be spoken until long after the dreamers are gone.

A hope for 2005 is that more civic leaders will take the big risks. Organize the massive community party, restore a crumbling hotel, buy a monolith of a building, plant an exotic garden in meat-and-potatoes land. That’s where dreams lead. We hope there are many more to follow in this new year.