The Mayor and the major news

Adam Huening

July 01, 2006 10:52 am

— This past week has probably been the biggest of Mayor Frank Manus’ political career. Truth is, he’s loving every minute of it even if the Honda news hasn’t quite completely sunk in yet.
“What happened was one of the wildest dreams I ever had. Here it is (the end of the week) and it hasn’t hit me yet. I don’t know when it will,” Manus said from his home Friday. He took the afternoon off to recuperate from the excitement and enjoy the long weekend.
For Manus, it all began with a visit at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Two representatives from Honda came up the front steps of the Carnegie Library that houses City Hall and sat down in his office. Manus had his suspicions.
“They came in and had scheduled a 30-minute meeting but they were there for about 10 minutes,” Manus recalled. “They said, ‘We’re picking the Greensburg site,’ and I said. ‘Oh, really?’ They said, ‘Yeah.’ I said ‘Okay.’”
That brief meeting set off a chain of events that would consume the Mayor’s next 48 hours. His phone started ringing off the hook and didn’t stop for almost a whole day. The Honda reps told Manus they wanted him to speak at the press conference on Wednesday, which Manus noted was not a big deal for him because he likes to talk.
Before he could take the podium at the Greensburg Community Learning Center to speak in front of the world, he had to deal with the slew of television reporters pining to get a little face time with the Mayor. He set up an interview with one station in front of the courthouse Tuesday evening before a Solid Waste Management meeting.
“I got there and there were three stations waiting for me, sticking microphones in my face. Then I went into a meeting and when I came out there were three more,” Manus said with a laugh.
The attention didn’t bother him at all, he noted.
“The whole thing was really fun and exciting. It was great to bring Greensburg to the attention of the world. I think people know where Greensburg is now,” Manus said. “Being a Mayor, you’ve got to make it fun or people could drive you silly.”
As the sun set over the city and the gaggle of news crews retired to their respective hotel rooms and home cities, Manus was anticipating the conference and the official word from Honda.
When he walked into the Learning Center on Wednesday, he was instantly impressed with the way Honda set things up.
“They were very precise with everything they did and very professional,” he noted.
Manus was escorted into a side room behind the For Community Room, where the conference was held, to meet with Honda executives and the Governor. Just before the meeting was to begin, it became apparent the community attendance was much higher than anticipated, so Manus and the Greensburg Fire Department moved many of the people out into the hallway to watch the event on flatscreen televisions provided by Honda.
“I was so happy to see so many people there and to get the publicity we did,” Manus said.
The meeting began and Manus sat on the stage as cameras focused in on each speaker. He was happy to hear each speech and glad to know the word was finally out. Under the hot lights and the gaze of the people in attendance, Manus waited for his turn to speak. When the time came, he stepped to the podium and did what he always does - state what is in his heart.
“Of course, I always shoot from the hip when I talk. There was a lot of work put into it to make this happen and I tried to thank all of those involved,” Manus stated. “I mentioned the Mayor of Lawrenceburg because he was very gracious to give the City of Greensburg $10 million to help with development.”
Not that it’s over, he is looking forward to the future and taking pride in the fact he played a part in things.
“It is a real honor to be the Mayor of Greensburg and a real honor to be involved in bringing Honda to Greensburg. There are a lot of people working behind the scenes that will probably never be recognized.”
Manus also anticipates the impact and spreading the jobs around to people who need them, especially those in the county who have long commutes to make ends meet.
“I hope those people leaving for work at 4:30 or 5 in the morning can maybe live a normal life now by working locally at Honda,” he said.
While improving life in Greensburg has been his main focus as Mayor, he feels the sun now rises on a different era for the city.
“Greensburg will never be the same. The quality of life will always be here in Greensburg, but things will go on as always,” Manus noted. “We’ll still get up in the morning and go to bed at night. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Sometimes it rains. We’ll keep doing what we do.”
For now, Manus says he is still savoring the moment and the people of Decatur County should as well.
“Life is a lot of triumphs and a lot of losses. This is a triumph to celebrate,” he said.
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