5 Questions with Matt Murawski: Veteran chooses Chattahoochee Valley as home
How did you end up in Columbus?
I ended up in Columbus through the military. Over the years, I was stationed here several times, and this was the first place that felt like home after spending a lot of my time overseas. After I left the Army, I stayed in the area to start my own business and then attend school.
You earned the U.S. Army Ranger tab. What did you gain from that experience?
Going through an experience like U.S. Army Ranger School teaches you a lot of things about yourself, but the biggest thing that it taught me about life was that it is 10 percent talent, and 90 percent hard work. No matter what you have been through you can always work harder and give something more. Most of the time that is the difference between success and failure.
As a distance cyclist, what is your favorite ride in the Chattahoochee Valley?
The great thing about this area is that you can ride just about anywhere and find any sort of terrain you want. If you want to be in the hills all day then you ride in Pine Mountain, or you can head to the backside of Fort Benning and not see a car all day long. Its great to see cycling explode in the area with the Tuesday night rides and the cycling team that Ride On Bikes sponsors. Hopefully, we will continue to see businesses foster this development and sponsor more kids to race. There is a lot of talent in the area.
What would you like to see in downtown Columbus that is currently not here?
This is a simple question with a complicated answer. If you are talking about tangible things then I would love to see more retail businesses in uptown, a dog park and an art gallery. Intangibly, I think we need to re-adjust our thinking and some laws, which prohibit the expansion of uptown from one street. I think that if we changed some of our alcohol laws concerning churches that you would see more restaurants expand outward and we could connect uptown and midtown.
What is the best kept secret in the Chattahoochee Valley?
The best kept secret in the area definitely has to be our artists. Few people understand that we have world-renowned artists like Mike Howard and Sally Bradley living right here in the city and you can see their artwork for free.
Vital Stats
Name: Matt Murawski Age: 31 Job: StudentHometown: Indianapolis Current home: Uptown Columbus Education: Lawrence North High School, 2002; Ball State University, B.S. in History, 2006; Columbus State University, MBA candidate, currently Favorite book: "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller Favorite TV Show: "The Office"Favorite restaurant: 11th and Bay Favorite quote: "It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live." Victor Hugo, "Les Misérables" Favorite song: "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen Best concert attended: Poison and KISS in Indianapolis in 2004.
This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 10:16 PM with the headline "5 Questions with Matt Murawski: Veteran chooses Chattahoochee Valley as home."