The Big Dam Bridge Opening Ceremony - September 30, 2006   "Welcome to YOUR Bridge   The most important question in any public endeavor is ..why? This bridge, like the very early bridges, connects people and places. Spanning this river that would divide us, it connects us in a very human way. We will bring our families and our friends here, and we will meet other families and make new friends. We will be better and our community will be better for the experience. Let this be a BRIDGE TO FRIENDSHIP AND COMMUNITY.   We live in a time where the lack of physical activity presents the greatest threat to our health. This bridge beckons us, challenges us to scale its heights again and again, until we can do so without breathing hard or feeling our muscles tighten. We can be healthy. We can be physically fit. Let this be a BRIDGE TO HEALTH AND FITNESS.   We know that there are visitors here today from as many as thirty states and three foreign countries. We welcome you. It is a part of our nature and culture to extend our hospitality to those who visit us. We also appreciate the money you spend as you stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and shop in our shops. It is good for our economy. We are a community committed to economic growth. We are also a community committed to enhancing the quality of life for those who live here. Our goal is to create a community where people want to live, work and play, not just a place they have to come to work. Let this be a BRIDGE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE.   A significant public structure should be about more than concrete and steel, more than form and function. It should in some way reflect the highest aspirations of our people. The beauty of the design of this bridge reaches skyward. As we begin the ascent it causes us to look up and forward, with each turn of the pedal or each step moving us toward our goal. When we achieve its heights, there will be sense of accomplishment and feeling of-if we can do this, what else can we do. Our spirits will be renewed as we gaze upon the beauty before us, over this river whose waters have come and passed this way for thousands of years, connecting us to our history, our past, our present and our future. Our future, our history yet to be written. We can be what we choose to be. If we can conceive it, we can achieve it! For all things are possible, if we only believe! Let this be a Bridge of Dreams.”     Judge Buddy Villines