Home.
When we think about building community, too often we get caught up in the flashy trends of the exercise. We get caught chasing squirrels – adorning bridges, adding placards, emulating the actions of towns wholly unlike ours. We get caught up building a community and forget what it takes to build our community.
You see, home isn’t the “Pure Jasper–Newton” billboard or the flashy Facebook advertisements framing up our great community to outsiders. Home doesn’t require the pretense, the dog-and-pony show, the fake smiles, and photoshopped images… Home is something deeper, richer, more interesting… more pure. Home is here. (I hope you are sitting there now, reading this.)
It is building that sense of pride that flows through everything we do together. It is reflected in the vibrancy of our community – through art, culture, food, and festival. It is attracting, employing, and retaining the human talent to do the work and the good businesses themselves to bring
prosperity to our communities.
It is including all our neighbors in a quality place that helps us all build healthy, active, and fulfilled lives. It is educating our children and becoming. a great place to grow families with established roots that continue to thrive generations later.
Jasper and Newton Counties are perfectly planted in some of the best soil in the great state of Indiana. We are uniquely. positioned, central to the American arterial system, with unmatched access to the largest population centers in middle America. With the whole world at our fingertips, we are rich in resources, full in heart, and safe and secure in our smallness.
For years, communities like ours were branded as Lilliputian by our metropolitan neighbors. But we’ve always known what they’re learning now. Jasper and Newton counties provide the best foundation for crafting vibrant and prosperous communities that provide a true quality life for growing the best kids, families, and neighbors… for building up a home.
Doing so won’t be for the weak of spirit. We’ve dreamt big for our shared home, and only we can bring that dream to reality. It’ll take a concerted effort across all aspects of our shared lives. We must reach deep into our history and our culture. We must focus attention on the economic lifeblood of our communities. We must keep near to heart the lives we aim to collectively protect. And, among them, we must continue to support the young kids and young families who will be the next generation of leaders, workers, and builders of this place we affectionately call home. Not one of these areas can be left behind as we drive forward.
The Jasper Newton Foundation could not be more excited to see our communities coming together, growing, changing, adapting to what life dishes out, and connecting on what we see as our future. The last twelve months have been a true gift of insight from all of you.
I can feel it now. The engine is running, the cab is warm and cozy, a warm house and a warm meal are just a few minutes away. Let’s climb in together, tug on the transmission lever, and drift away a bit into our shared vision for the future. Let’s glance at the mirrors and imagine at one time all the sensory experiences that make this beautiful community home. And let’s not take our eyes off the road ahead for long. It’s time we tune the radio dial, roll down the windows, and take a drive home.
