NATCHEZ — Unless you just moved to town today or have been living under a rock for the past year, you know there is a pretty important vote coming up on Nov. 3.

On the one hand, we are electing a sheriff to lead Adams County for at least the next two years.

That vote is important in itself, but the other thing on the ballot makes this perhaps the most important vote Adams County citizens have made in a long time.

In preparation for the vote, I spent the week talking with city officials in Muscle Shoals, Ala., about their recreation complex and the amount of revenue it brings in for a story that is on the front page of today’s paper.

In talking with the Muscle Shoals officials, one thing stood out to me above all others.

It wasn’t the amount of money the complexes cost to build. It wasn’t the millions of dollars that the city made by hosting state and national tournaments at their complex.

It wasn’t even the fact that over 900 children in a town of approximately 12,000 participate in the city’s baseball and softball leagues alone.

No, the thing that most impressed me about Muscle Shoals and their recreation department was the extreme organization and professionalism that they put into running the department properly.

The city doesn’t go by the Field of Dreams method and say “We’ve built it, now who’s coming?”

They have actively gone out and promoted their complex, aggressively bid on tournaments and put money into their recreation program for the good of the city’s youth.

The city puts over $1.2 million annually into the recreation program to keep the youth with something to do.

The city runs leagues in baseball, softball, tackle and flag football, soccer, gymnastics, karate and other things.

The $1.2 million budgeted for recreation is a lot of money for a city Muscle Shoals’ size, but the city can afford to make that commitment to their youth because of the revenue they make off their recreation complex by hosting tournaments.

The city raked in approximately $2 million earlier this year from the Dixie Youth State Tournament and made about $9 million when they hosted the Dixie Youth World Series in 2002.

The city officials don’t just let these tournaments fall in their lap. They go out and get them.

Muscle Shoals Parks and Recreation Department Director Rusty Wheeles has a packet made up and a video that shows tournament officials what Muscle Shoals has to offer, both in its facilities and the city in general.

The mayor and city council has accompanied Wheeles on numerous occasions to pitch the city to tournament officials, and it has worked out greatly.

They know that building a complex doesn’t do much good if you don’t promote it properly to make it the economic boon it can be.

So if the nonbinding referendum does pass on Nov. 3, the onus will fall on the city and county to not just build a facility, but use it properly and promote it to out of town guests and tournament officials as well.

Real life isn’t like a movie. They won’t come just because you build it. You have to go out there and get them.