Dona Bonnett.

I saw a local church marquee this week that read, “A New Year – A New Beginning” and pondered a few minutes on that statement. It’s great to have an opportunity to have a fresh start. At the beginning of a new year, it’s a great time to reflect on our disappointments and triumphs of the past year, and our dreams for the upcoming year. What did we do really good last year that we are proud of, and what do we need to improve on?

If you think about it, how can we reach our dreams and goals without a plan? Life seems so much busier now than it used to be and there are never enough hours in the day. Taking time to evaluate how we spend our time can help us manage it to be able to accomplish our goals. Sometimes, it is not that we are spending our time on bad things, it just may not be the best use of our time. In life, there are good things we can spend our time on, there are better things we can spend our time on and then there are the best things we can spend our time on.

What is it that we really want out of life? Personally or professionally? Sometimes we get caught up with what others want us to do rather than what we really want. Just because a job needs to be done doesn’t mean that it has to be done by you. God has a plan for each of us and, if we are a Christian, we should pray about where our time and efforts should be spent. Have you heard the old saying, “If you don’t plan your life, someone else will,”? Ask yourself this question, “will what I am spending my time on help me reach my dreams and goals” – the good, better, best test.

The New Year is a great time to take the time to evaluate our life. Take a step back and objectively look at where we are. Write down some dreams. Write down some goals. Put a date on when you want to accomplish each one. So what is a goal? A goal is a dream with a date on it. Visualize your goal. In life, you get what you picture. If you can’t see it, you cannot accomplish it… The next step is to be willing to work for it. Nothing can be accomplished if you are not willing to put in the effort and work.

2016 is going to be a great year and a fresh start. I hope you are able to accomplish the dreams and goals that you set for this year. Now let’s get to the news!

Congratulations Leeds City Schools! Leeds school system ranked No. 1 as the Up-and-Coming System in the state and No. 26 in the country. Ranking by Graphiq looked at data from 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years with a focus on two factors: the change in percentile rank in proficiency rates on statewide math and reading tests, and the change in percentile rank in high school graduation rates. In Alabama, Leeds City Schools was the system with the greatest average percentile improvement in the two categories. Way to go, Leeds!

Congratulations to Rusty’s Bar-B-Q for rating in the al.com article, “5 Birmingham Barbecue Restaurants Even Memphis Fans Should Love.” Earlier last year, Rusty’s Bar-B-Q was the winner in the Mom ‘n Pops category of the Alabama Tourism Department’s online Alabama Barbecue Battle. Keep up the great work, Rusty’s! For more information about Rusty’s Bar-B-Q, please visit their website at www.rustysbarbq.com.

Thirteen new decorative street lamps are being installed from downtown Leeds to the elementary school along the Parkway. This is the final part of the project which included fixing the drainage in front of the elementary school, repairing the sidewalks and redoing the corners with handicap accessible ramps.

Our hearts go out to owners and employees of Vinny Vito’s Restaurant in Moody, which burned this past Sunday evening. We’re so thankful that no one was injured. It is so sad to see a business burn, especially such a new business in town. Anyone who has eaten at Vinny Vito’s knows how great the food was, and we wish them the best as they work toward restoration.

After 39 years of loyal customers, Beverly Messer has announced that she will be closing Carl Ann Florist. Thank you, Beverly, for serving the greater Leeds area for all of these years with beautiful floral work. You and Carl Ann Florist will be greatly missed!

Recipes for a Cure Cookbooks are available for $15 produced by the 2016 Relay for Life of Greater St. Clair. You may purchase one from Becky, Anita, Amanda or Francis at Leeds Wal-Mart, McKinnon Pharmacy or Melissa at Moody City Hall.

The Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Leeds will conduct a ribbon cutting for Farmer’s Home Furniture (located at 7480 Parkway Drive across from Leeds First Baptist Church) today, Jan. 7. We welcome this new business to Leeds!

Please remember the celebration for the Eden Westside Baptist Church River Campus will be this Sunday, Jan. 10 celebrating their first year anniversary. The schedule includes a 9:30 a.m. Celebration Service, a short fellowship and an 11 a.m. Worship Service. This campus is located on Highway 78 just past the Shops of Grand River. For more information about Eden Westside Baptist Church and the River Campus, please visit their website at www.edenwestside.org.

Moody City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, at Moody City Hall. Moody’s Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

LadyBUGS, the Leeds/Moody Professional Women’s Organization, will meet at Noon on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Please RSVP to m.k.davis2010@gmail.com.

The Moody Area Chamber of Commerce will host its monthly chamber luncheon from 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14. The guest speaker will be Christine Eickman who will speak on Effective Skills for Team Building. The Luncheon sponsor is adr Business & Marketing Strategies. The menu includes grilled chicken tenders with onions & peppers, salad, steamed cabbage, herbed new potatoes and your choice of dessert, peach cobbler or chocolate pie, along with drink and bread. Lunch is $10 with RSVP to Andrea Machen, Executive Director, at (205) 640.6262.

If you have an interest in getting your business ad in the new Leeds magazine being published by the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce who is planning an early February print for this bi-annual publication, please contact Sandra McGuire, Executive Director, at (205) 699.5001 for advertising rates.

Our thought for the week: “Goal setting is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” ~ Tony Robbins

I truly appreciate each of you who read my column and I really love sharing news so please remember to send your Leeds and Moody news to me at dona@adrbms.com. Happy goal setting and see you next week!