John Young has left an indelible mark on our community

I did not know him well and am not qualified to say much about him personally. A friend, former boss and former business partner of mine knew him much better and did a much better job of it than I would, so I will just provide a link to that, below.

One sees the effect John Young had on New Albany as a business owner and developer every day, whether he or she realizes it or not.

He had his detractors, of course.

There are often smalltown families that rigidly fight progress for fear of diluting their perceived power and influence.

Some people are simply jealous of another’s success, even more so if that someone is an “outsider.”

And John was successful with our community along for the ride.

Want evidence?

Drive along I-22, Chrystal Plaza, Park Plaza Drive, Bratton Road and Starlyn Avenue. Now remember them as the bare fields and pastures they once were.

It’s possible all that growth could have happened on its own eventually, but not likely. Especially the commercial and residential growth.

John Young was a hard worker and a planner, but not a publicity seeker.

In fact, it was difficult to get information out of him for a news story. Not that he was hiding anything, but that he just didn’t seem to care about publicity or attention. The closest I can remember his wanting news in the paper was when he was proud of something one of his kids had done.

He quietly supported community efforts and made material contributions from time to time.

And if he profited from projects that benefited the community, that was fine by me. He earned it.

I feel confident that he wasn’t done, that he has left plenty of plans left behind.

I hope his family will be able to carry those plans out.

Fortunately, our community has other families that contribute more than their share to our success and individual planners and visionaries responsible for improving our quality of life. Their efforts, by their nature, tend to be more visible than long-term economic planning. For that reason, many Union County residents may have no idea who John Young was, or the businesses he was responsible for or the effect he had on their lives.

The one quote I remember from John Young was when I was talking with him about a story at least 20 years ago.

“You know, people think I have a lot of money,” he said. “I don’t. But I plan to.”

He was all about planning and the future and our community is better for being part of his future.

I hope to see his plans continued along with the efforts of our other planners and seers in the community.

For a remembrance of John Young, go to https://www.nemiss.news/john-young-ive-been-out-of-money-but-ive-never-been-broke/