By Staff
Keith Martin remembers the times his grandmother asked him to go to the mailbox to see if the “Indian check” had arrived.
Years later, the Poarch Creek Band of Indians has arrived, opening the new Wind Creek casino facility Tuesday.
Martin, who is chairman of the Poarch Creek Indians gaming board, joined his colleagues on Monday to welcome media to the new facility, which also includes a 15-story hotel to open later this month.
But Martin has not forgotten how far the Poarch Creek band has come since those days of the “Indian checks.”
Gaming may not be everyone's cup of tea, but you have to look with awe at what the Poarch Creek Indians have been able to achieve in Atmore. From a small metal building where someone called out bingo numbers to a beautiful, multi-million dollar complex, PCI has hit the jackpot.
But luck probably had a lot less to do with it than hard work. Poarch Creek leaders had to have a strong vision, backed by a well-organized plan and gifted leadership, to build the facility that began greeting visitors Tuesday.
We can all learn something from that kind of perseverance and planning. The City of Atmore itself has purchased land across the street from the new gaming facility, with plans to build commercial and other real estate ventures at the Rivercaine property.
In Brewton, we can look at our own pending projects - improvements to local parks, plans for a new middle school, hopes for greater retail development - and realize that those projects can come to fruition with a little more patience and hard work.
More than one person could be overheard Monday saying, “It doesn't seem like we're in Escambia County.”
But with more of the kind of hard work and vision that built Wind Creek, that kind of facility will become the norm for our county and its communities.
Kerry Whipple Bean is
publisher of The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by e-mail at kerry.bean@brewton