MOUNT VERNON — Speaking at a business forum Tuesday, presenter Jack Schultz quoted one of Yogi Berra’s famous sayings: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Dan Mount, Centerburg village administrator, and Dave Humphrey, vice president of the Centerburg Area Business Association, want the fork they choose to lead to a better quality of life for the next generation.

“Everybody lives for today or tomorrow,” said Mount. “Dave and I want to leave the village to the next generation like we would have liked it left to us.”

“Not only do I work here, I live here,” said Humphrey. “I have a very personal interest in how the community develops. I want it to grow into what I want to pass on to the next generation.”

That means, said Mount, “taking control of our own destiny.” That means beginning the process of creating a vision for the village.

“We’re trying to get a core group of people together — the mayor, president of the women’s association — to sit down and brainstorm — see what seems reasonable; see what each of our visions are,” said Humphrey. “We’ve been sitting back and letting things happen, content because we’ve been growing, and not really taking steps to control things. Growth will happen; we need to control it and plan ahead, and we’ll be better off.”

The biggest challenge, he said, will be “finding our niche.”

“What do we have to offer?” asked Mount. “That’s the question Dave asked. We don’t want to be a Westerville. We don’t want to be a Bavarian community, the Amish thing has been done. Sunbury has its antique shops. We have to find our niche.

“I think the [Heart of Ohio] trail will bring a lot to Centerburg and the community,” he continued. “That will be something unique in 10 years, to be able to go to every village [in the county] by bike trail. You have the whole county as your playground.”

Mount said in creating a vision for the village, village officials need to work closely with township officials.

“Hilliar Township has a great park system,” said Mount. “The trail goes right next to it. We need to find out what’s already here.”

Mount said the village also needs to get away from the Friday Night Lights syndrome, something Schultz referred to in his presentation. Friday Night Lights syndrome is when two communities have such an intense rivalry on the football field on Friday night that they can’t get along together come Monday morning.

“We need to work together,” said Mount. “Mount Vernon is a great community; it’s quaint. The more Mount Vernon promotes itself, the better for Centerburg. Danville and Centerburg are rivals. I say buy local. If not from Centerburg, then buy from the county. If you can’t get it here [in Centerburg], then get it from Danville, or Fredericktown. There’s enough out there for everybody.”

Both men agreed industry and development are key components to their vision for Centerburg.

“We need to generate jobs for local youth so they’ll want to come back and live and work here,” said Humphrey. “That’s a major concern of Dan and I — once they graduate, there’s nothing to draw them back.”

“Our school system is great,” Mount said. “We’re trying to bring some development in with the Whistlestop property. We need to look at ... how to keep our kids here.”

Mount said although the village needs to attract new people, it is especially important to retain the youth in the community.

“New people coming into the community have a different attitude,” he explained. “They don’t have a sense of ownership [like someone who grew up in the village would have.]”

Mount cited as an example the simple act of mowing a lawn. Life-long village residents don’t just mow out to the street, he said, then dispose of their clippings in the street. They clean up the street, too. Newcomers may not have that sense of pride.

“It’s a different mentality,” he said. “With three generations in the same area, the quality of life is much different.”

In his book, “Boomtown USA: The 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns,” Schultz writes that some strengths come from a community’s natural resources, some from its people. He also discusses branding, which he said is the image or message sent by a community, whether intentional or unintentional. According to Schultz, residential areas that are clean and well-tended help convey a town’s brand to those coming into the community.

Mount said the leadership to carry out Centerburg’s vision, once it’s created, has to come from all segments of the community.

“It can’t be just government,” he said, “because then you have the feeling that big brother’s watching. It needs to come from both sides meeting in the middle, creating a common goal.”

That’s why, he said, it’s important to include village officials, pastors and members of organizations such as the Lions Club, Boy Scouts, and women and parent-teacher groups on a revitalization steering committee. He noted village council has already shown its support by allocating $30,000 for revitalization. The business association has already begun working with village officials, in conjunction with The Ohio State University, on creating a survey of area residents to find out how they want the village to look in 20 years.

Humphrey agreed the leadership should come from a cross section of the community, but it should specifically involve someone well connected with the real estate environment, “people who have a personal interest as well as a business interest in the community to succeed, and that have a desire to balance those two.”

Humphrey, who is assistant manager of the Centerburg branch of First-Knox National Bank, said the bank can also play a role in downtown revitalization because it can do things like provide low-interest loans as part of a matching grant program.

Starting from a “clean slate,” as Humphrey put it, both men know it will take time to solicit input from the citizens, shape it into a vision for the village, then create a plan for carrying out that vision. Both agreed, however, the process may be easier in a smaller community like Centerburg compared to a larger city.

Equating it to a ship, Humphrey said that Centerburg, being a small ship, can be changed faster.

“A small core group making changes will make a greater impact than perhaps a group from Mount Vernon,” he said. “We know it’s going to take time, but if we get the passionate people that Jack [Schultz] talked about ...”