July 11th, 2021
By Brook Goss

Looking at the commonwealth asset exercise, I noticed the many assets we have here in Swisher County. I attend Kress High School where I will be a senior this year, so education is on my mind a lot as I begin to look at colleges. I attended the small school of Kress my whole life and the teachers and staff definitely have a special place in my heart and have provided me with a great learning experience. Health is an area I am really interested in because I would like to go into the healthcare field. Swisher County has a great community hospital that puts their patients first. Spirituality is another aspect close to my heart. I am not afraid to let people know my beliefs. I am a Christian and we have many churches to attend. Leisure and recreation are other assets present here in Swisher County. We actually have a fun event coming up this week. We are getting together to celebrate our annual picnic. We have a week planned full of dances, food, live music, a parade, and my favorite rodeo. Swisher County picnic has been celebrated for 131 years now so it’s a big part of the county’s history. Sense of place can be seen and felt by all the friendly people in the community. Art and culture can be seen through the local artists here, one was known for his cowboy painting and the other is known for his murals. The artist that does them around Swisher county really amazes me, his name is Alfonzo Garcia. The water cycle, wildlife and the natural world, soil and mineral cycle, foodshed and renewable energy assets all can all be lumped together and seen in the rich agricultural aspects of the area. We are an agricultural county, so we have many farmers, feedlots, and ag industries that live and breathe those assets daily. I love where I live and Swisher has a special place in my heart and I will never be ashamed to let people know about our county.

