Governor Moore on Service

“It is also a state where there is no obstacle we cannot address, no challenge we cannot tackle,  if we are intentional, move in partnership, and commit to promoting service as a state ideal.

I only realized recently, Service, the word, comes from the Latin, servitium, which meant “slavery.” It is fitting as the first African American to deliver this speech, in a building that was built by the hands of enslaved people, that we are now putting “service” towards the good of all.

The irony is that it is service that will help save us.

On day one of my administration, I ordered the creation of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. This was not a stunt. This was not because it sounded nice. This was because it is a fundamental part of who I am, and it’s in the DNA of this state.

Our order consolidates and elevates the agencies of state government that support service opportunities. We need to follow it with legislation, The Serve Act, that will create a Service Year Option. While our young people give back, they also lay the foundation for their future success through job training and mentorship programs, and create a lifelong habit of service to our state. Something we so desperately need.

Whether they’re preparing our state for climate change, tutoring our students, or caring for the sick, young people should have the option to perform important service today and build a foundation for our shared future.

This is the first effort of its kind in the nation, and Maryland will lead the way.

Some may ask, “Why is this important? Why should state government do this?”

Because, and you’ve heard me say this before, service is sticky.

Service, will save us.

It will save us money, through a more strategic plan and better use of resources.

Building a workforce of dedicated public servants saves us the expense of costly contractors and external vendors, and if properly managed, delivers us better results.

Spending $100 million on inefficiencies and patchwork politics is not the way to run a government.

We have the assets, we need to harness them. That’s what my plan does.

It will save us time by adding urgency, because our people will be more involved in their state government and helping one another, expediting the changes we know we need.

And it will save one another.

At a time when civic bonds are frayed, where many feel more disconnected from their neighbors than ever before, service is the antidote to the epidemic of loneliness and otherness.

Service is how we re-engage our people in the project of forming a more perfect state.

It’s time we confront the demagoguery of false choices. The idea that if one group of people wins, another must lose. Or that when a political party loses an election, they are excluded from the process of governing for the next four years.

It is time for our state to be bold, but that doesn’t mean we are being reckless.

It is also a state where there is no obstacle we cannot address, no challenge we cannot tackle,  if we are intentional, move in partnership, and commit to promoting service as a state ideal.

I only realized recently, Service, the word, comes from the Latin, servitium, which meant “slavery.” It is fitting as the first African American to deliver this speech, in a building that was built by the hands of enslaved people, that we are now putting “service” towards the good of all.

The irony is that it is service that will help save us.

On day one of my administration, I ordered the creation of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. This was not a stunt. This was not because it sounded nice. This was because it is a fundamental part of who I am, and it’s in the DNA of this state.

Our order consolidates and elevates the agencies of state government that support service opportunities. We need to follow it with legislation, The Serve Act, that will create a Service Year Option. While our young people give back, they also lay the foundation for their future success through job training and mentorship programs, and create a lifelong habit of service to our state. Something we so desperately need.

Whether they’re preparing our state for climate change, tutoring our students, or caring for the sick, young people should have the option to perform important service today and build a foundation for our shared future.

This is the first effort of its kind in the nation, and Maryland will lead the way.

Some may ask, “Why is this important? Why should state government do this?”

Because, and you’ve heard me say this before, service is sticky.

Service, will save us.

It will save us money, through a more strategic plan and better use of resources.

Building a workforce of dedicated public servants saves us the expense of costly contractors and external vendors, and if properly managed, delivers us better results.

Spending $100 million on inefficiencies and patchwork politics is not the way to run a government.

We have the assets, we need to harness them. That’s what my plan does.

It will save us time by adding urgency, because our people will be more involved in their state government and helping one another, expediting the changes we know we need.

And it will save one another.

At a time when civic bonds are frayed, where many feel more disconnected from their neighbors than ever before, service is the antidote to the epidemic of loneliness and otherness.

Service is how we re-engage our people in the project of forming a more perfect state.

It’s time we confront the demagoguery of false choices. The idea that if one group of people wins, another must lose. Or that when a political party loses an election, they are excluded from the process of governing for the next four years.

It is time for our state to be bold, but that doesn’t mean we are being reckless.

“It is also a state where there is no obstacle we cannot address, no challenge we cannot tackle,  if we are intentional, move in partnership, and commit to promoting service as a state ideal.

I only realized recently, Service, the word, comes from the Latin, servitium, which meant “slavery.” It is fitting as the first African American to deliver this speech, in a building that was built by the hands of enslaved people, that we are now putting “service” towards the good of all.

The irony is that it is service that will help save us.

On day one of my administration, I ordered the creation of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. This was not a stunt. This was not because it sounded nice. This was because it is a fundamental part of who I am, and it’s in the DNA of this state.

Our order consolidates and elevates the agencies of state government that support service opportunities. We need to follow it with legislation, The Serve Act, that will create a Service Year Option. While our young people give back, they also lay the foundation for their future success through job training and mentorship programs, and create a lifelong habit of service to our state. Something we so desperately need.

Whether they’re preparing our state for climate change, tutoring our students, or caring for the sick, young people should have the option to perform important service today and build a foundation for our shared future.

This is the first effort of its kind in the nation, and Maryland will lead the way.

Some may ask, “Why is this important? Why should state government do this?”

Because, and you’ve heard me say this before, service is sticky.

Service, will save us.

It will save us money, through a more strategic plan and better use of resources.

Building a workforce of dedicated public servants saves us the expense of costly contractors and external vendors, and if properly managed, delivers us better results.

Spending $100 million on inefficiencies and patchwork politics is not the way to run a government.

We have the assets, we need to harness them. That’s what my plan does.

It will save us time by adding urgency, because our people will be more involved in their state government and helping one another, expediting the changes we know we need.

And it will save one another.

At a time when civic bonds are frayed, where many feel more disconnected from their neighbors than ever before, service is the antidote to the epidemic of loneliness and otherness.

Service is how we re-engage our people in the project of forming a more perfect state.

It’s time we confront the demagoguery of false choices. The idea that if one group of people wins, another must lose. Or that when a political party loses an election, they are excluded from the process of governing for the next four years.

It is time for our state to be bold, but that doesn’t mean we are being reckless…..

Service, public service, is what will help our state reach its full potential.

…Tens of thousands of government workers throughout our state serve our people. They do so despite the fact the pay, could be better, the incoming complaints, could be fewer, the challenges, could be easier.

They do it, because, like you and I, they love our state.