As part of Positively Osceola’s 2026 — A New Year, A New Hope series, Osceola County Commission Chairman and District 3 Commissioner Brandon Arrington reflects on the promise of Osceola County’s people, the progress made in 2025, and his optimism for what lies ahead in the coming year.
Every year, we prepare for the promise of “next year.” Somewhere between the ritualistic sharing of resolutions (which we know we won’t keep beyond the end of January…) and the taking down of holiday décor, if you’re like me, you start to think about what excites you most as a new year approaches.
As I look around Osceola County, I am excited first and foremost about the promise of our residents.
I see hard work and dedication in the local mechanic who learned a trade and who has created a successful business, keeping our community moving. I see it in the nurse who is a first-generation college-going student, who is studying to advance her career and earn her APRN. Each of these is made possible for future generations because of our Board’s investment in Osceola Prosper, a first-of-its-kind program that has ensured Osceola students have the promise of post-secondary education, whether at Valencia or Osceola Technical College.
As a lifelong Osceola resident, I’m also excited about connectivity.
Beginning this year and as we embark on the next decade, billions of dollars will be spent by our Board and our partners at Central Florida Expressway Authority, Florida Department of Transportation, and the Turnpike Enterprise to amass the region’s largest interconnected beltway, ensuring that Osceola is first to what’s next in ensuring our residents and visitors can not only navigate our beautiful community and natural resources, but be better connected to our neighbors, enjoying a quality of life thought impossible as few as two generations ago.
Through it all, I’m excited about the promise of the unknown—the “what ifs” that we haven’t yet asked or discovered. Penicillin was only invented 98 years ago; the Internet 42 years ago; and social media only came about at the beginning of the 2000s.
Now is the time to ponder our future. The cornerstones laid today—and indeed in the coming year—will ensure our continued success as we find solutions to everyday problems. So instead of choosing to let the future define us, I ask you—how should we resolve to define the future?
Osceola Chairman, District 3 County Commissioner
Brandon Arrington
