290

ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALLIED CIVIC GROUP

OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

June 14, 1967

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is always a great pleasure to meet with the Allied Civic Group,
where the distinguished, articulate and competent leaders of nearly
sixty-five local associations join to influence and give direction to
Montgomery County's development.

While there may be no precise method to measure your success, it
is obvious that your cooperative efforts have brought a new and abun-
dant energy to Montgomery County. In the almost twenty-eight years
that the Allied Civic Group has focused its attentions upon the prob-
lems of this County, the population has more than tripled and the
character of Montgomery County has dynamically changed. The ex-
traordinary progress of the past three decades is an enduring tribute to
the interest and dedication of responsible citizens who have volun-
tarily contributed their time, talent and vision to the community.

The results of this investment of energy and insight abound about
you... tremendous, well-balanced growth; a fine school system; a
superbly professional county government. Montgomery has become
one of Maryland's model counties, an example and inspiration
throughout the State and nation.

This is not to say you are perfect. Naturally, frustration, impatience
and dissatisfaction exist, for you are aware there is still so much more
to be done. Master plans once presumed adequate have become ob-
solete; highways once thought superior have become congested. Yet
you must take comfort and pride in these anxieties for they are healthy
problems, constructive challenges, positive pains of birth and growth
rather than discouraging signs of death and decay.

Confident in your past success, you should take encouragement from
the knowledge that experience has provided the key to resolve present
problems. An insistence on good administration and proper planning
is the keystone to orderly progress. A realization that the essence of
growth is flux and movement, and that flexibility is the critical factor
to give imaginative solutions is necessary. Above all, the ability to
discipline all efforts with the pragmatic, incisive vision that reconciles
desire with reality is imperative.