“What’s the catch?” – “What religion are you promoting?” – “Is this a fundraising event?”  These are some of the comments we’ve received at Incourage over the past few days in response to our upcoming free Community Picnic on August 1, 5 p.m. at Lake Wazeecha.

Let me explain our motivation and the purpose of the event …

We want to provide an opportunity for people to come together to celebrate living in south Wood County. Meet your neighbors and fellow residents. Enjoy one of our natural resources and recreational assets: Lake Wazeecha. Enjoy a performance of local talent in the Aqua Skiers and Shermalot water ski teams.

Too often we frame things in the negative and challenging context. We know we’ve had our fair share of challenges over the past decade. When we frame discussions and thinking in the negative, we forget what is great about where we live. Our community needs to come together to celebrate and appreciate what we have.

Incourage is the community’s foundation. We were established in 1994 to be a permanent organization focused on meeting the changing needs of this community. Right now, we believe a need is to change the way we talk about our community and realize our full potential.

Join us and enjoy local food, local people and local talent. Meet someone new and start a conversation. That’s our only request.

Kelly Ryan, CEO