A few years after I moved out of Paradise, I ran into the Town Manager in the ladies’ room at a casino in Oroville during an economic forecast conference. Still well before the Camp Fire she said she thought it was a shame I’d left the Paradise Chamber. “You were our great hope,” she said. I remember feeling unsure how to reply since the Town had defunded the Chamber and put the non-profit on rocky financial footing. I weakly excused myself and moved on, but I felt seen and grateful for her compliment.