Take Pride in the US and in Middletown, Replace worn Flags
By Ann Mort
How many grand plans are gathering dust on the shelves in Middletown offices?
As one who has been in far too many meetings listing our “assets and challenges” with the infamous sticky dots to vote on one’s favorites, I refuse to go through that exercise again. We all pretty much know what we brag about, what bugs us most and what needs to be done.
An old Chinese proverb says “Talking doesn’t cook the rice.” So let’s get on with it. Our committee challenges our 51,300 neighbors to help us “encourage, initiate, facilitate, promote and celebrate positive action in Middletown.”
Projects are like children – the best ones are our own. We invite people to dust off those pet projects they’ve been wanting to do for the community (or their own neighborhood or even their own home or business)--anything that makes Middletown a better place to live.
What are likely projects? Everything from the I-75, Exit 32 redo to replacing that ragged old flag on your flag pole. We already have a list of 108 that are already on the list in various stages of happening. In fact, turning a phrase around, we found “a thousand points of blight” in Middletown. There is no lack of likely projects.
Drive around as though you were a visitor to this city for the first time. Look at the trash in public and private places, look at your own property—front and back, see buildings that need to be torn down, note the peeling paint and unrepaired storm damage.
Less visible are other issues that impact the community – low income issues, health issues, education issues. Do you know that the Middletown Adult Education Department graduates more students each year than Middletown High School? While Adult Ed is an Exemplary rated program, couldn’t we just keep more kids in school through normal graduation dates?
There is plenty of work for everyone, regardless of where the interest lies. Anyone without a pet project in mind can pick one off our list or join up with someone else.
This effort is unlike other efforts of the past. Middletown Pride in Action is definitely a grassroots effort. There is no big dollar treasury – don’t expect to have one. However, we know there are kind hearted clubs, businesses and individuals out there who will donate $100 or $1,000 to help a project get done. We’ll try to put those folks together—the doers and the donors.
Middletown is on the move! Since announcing the Middletown Pride in Action initiative in late December, there have been many emails and phone calls expressing interest and promises to help make Middletown a better place to live and work. While most of that interest was spurred by the news that a major on-line publication had listed Middletown as the 10th fastest dying city in the US, Sam Ashworth and I had been talking for several years about inviting the community to join us in a major effort to improve our town in many ways. This seems to be the time to get it going.
We’ve invited four energetic people to help us gather information about the projects, help those doing projects to connect with resources and then tell the world about what is happening in Middletown.
Our committee members, besides Sam and I, are all under 50 years of age so that next generation of leaders we all talk about will do much of the leading of this project. Maria Langendorf, Marie Edwards, Chris Papakirk and Jeff Michel complete the organization team.
Maybe in 2010, Middletown will be a new place with a new face and we’ll invite the Forbes magazine folks to come for a firsthand look at what Middletown is really like – a feisty, 217 year old town that is far from dying. We’re just remaking ourselves once again. We’ve done it before. From grist mills to beer and tobacco, to paper and steel, we’ve reshaped our economy. Now we’re moving into technology and medical businesses – while keeping steel and paper. Seems we will only be better than ever in a few years. So, let’s get out there and do our share.
If we can honestly brag about our city and what we are involved in, others will soon learn we are a community worth joining.
Join us via email to RMort@cinci.rr.com 513-649-4506 or sam41@cinci.rr.com 513-593-0062.
Discuss: MIDDLETOWN Pride In Action
