A Personal Thank You to the Newest Members of the Strong Towns Movement
I’m coming up on my one year anniversary of working for Strong Towns. I started on January 1st of 2017, which means I’ve had just under 48 incredible weeks here. 48 weeks of digging deep with all of you on what it will mean to really make our communities financially resilient. 48 weeks of asking hard questions about what it will take to build the kinds of towns that could thrive for generations. 48 weeks of watching the members of our movement get out there and put the things they’ve learned at Strong Towns into practice, and doing it in thousands of small, creative, consistently astounding ways.
But these past two weeks have been among my very favorite. And that’s because of you.
Throughout our recent member drive, I diligently reading your testimonials about why you chose to join this movement. I wanted to share a few of my very favorites with you. If you haven’t joined yet, maybe they’ll inspire you to take part.
From Orlando Rivera, a bike commuter in Dallas, Texas, who recognizes the power of cultural change:
“I strongly agree with the Strong Towns message, especially approaching the infrastructure crisis that plagues the US. In Dallas, Texas, local leaders place emphasis on accommodating the automobile and as a result, highways are ubiquitous throughout the city, high speed limits are the norm, urban sprawl is accepted, and a vehicle is widely considered as "necessary". Unfortunately, this results in millions, if not, billions of dollars in road maintenance and many vehicular deaths...The culture has to change.”
From Jamie Corbett in Freehold, New Jersey, who says Strong Towns inspires her activism:
“I started reading Mr. Money Moustache, and he linked to you. Poof! I was hooked. I love the articles and the feeling of empowerment Strong Towns gives me. Since reading Strong Towns, I've joined our Shade Tree Commission, Marched in Washington DC for Science, attended a Transit Village event, and joined an Indivisible Group.”
From Katherine Spadacenta in Camden, South Carolina, who believes in the power of Strong Citizens:
“I believe the growth, success and sustainability of a town or city cannot be left up to those few who hold leadership roles. Every member of the community needs to be a part of the process, because it is only then that we truly succeed as a community.”
And a huge thank you to the members how have joined since the start of our winter member drive. Usually, we’d put your names in a banner at the top of our site; I’m thrilled that there are so many of you that there’s no way you’d all fit.
Thank you to the newest members of the #2000Strong
Jennifer Altmiller of Pittsburgh, PA, Amos Amson of Milwaukee, WI, Vincent Aurelio of Houston, TX, Zeb Baccelli of Knox, PA, James Bannerman of Ambler, PA, Robert Barnes of Panama City, FL, David Bass of Buffalo, NY, pete baston of Boulder, CO, Ariane Beck of Austin, TX, Eric Biesterfeld of Wilmington, NC, Edward Bing of Arlington, MA, David Blair of Washington DC, DC, Jonathan Boynton of Greenville Jct., ME, Michael Bradley of Milwaukee, WI, Brian Brainerd of Kennesaw, GA, Michael Brezin of Tallahassee, FL, Marina Brown of Aliso Viejo, CA, Kris Bryant of Guthrie, OK, Allen Bryer of Mansfield, MA, Chris Bullock of Cranbrook, BC, Jennie Chamberlain of Los Angeles, CA, Donna Chang of San Leandro, CA, Jeffrey Collins of Concord, NH, Christopher Constant of Anchorage, AK, Bryan Copley of Seattle, WA, Jamie Corbett of Freehold, NJ, Joe Crawford of Greensboro, NC, Danice Creager of Louisville, KY, Jon Culp of Okanogan, WA, Janet R. Dakan of Louisville, KY, Donald Dales of Hobart, NY, Nicholas Dalton of Rochester, NY, Alex DeCamp of Detroit, MI, Ronald DeGray of Glastonbury, CT, Brian Deiwert of Indianapolis, IN, Joseph Dever of Chapin, SC, Brian DiSabatino of Wilmington, DE, Alexandra Doerr of Carmichael, CA, Will Dowdy of Eugene, OR, Brian Dunnette of Minneapolis, MN, Margaret Dutton of Diamondhead, MS, Marc Ebtinger of Indianapolis, IN, Matthew Egge of Attleboro, MA, John Ellis of Pensacola, FL, Paul Epp of Kansas City, MO, Tony Eubanks of Athens, GA, Sara Feagans of St. Louis, MO, Bob Ferreira of Andrews, NC, Reed Fincher of Dalton, GA, Linda Fondren of Vicksburg, MS, Kevin Foust of Riverside, CA, Peter French of San Antonio, TX, Cyriac George of Bronx, NY, Lisa Glover of Rockport, MA, Neil Gluckin of Danbury, CT, David Goodwin of Jersey City, NJ, Christopher Gonyea of Manchester, NH, Michael Gorman of Bloomington, IL, Antonio Grana of Hoboken, NJ, Lauren Greenfield of Longmont, CO, Amy Greenwald of Providence, RI, Chloe Groome of Irvine, CA, Zachary Hallock of Raleigh, NC, Andy Hamilton of San Diego, CA, Mark Harradine of Chapel Hill, NC, Steven Hart of Lexington, VA, Hans Haucke of Accokeek, MD, Douglas Heatwole of Pensacola, FL, Ana Hernandez of Brownsville, TX, Miguel Hernandez of Ossining, NY, George Hibbard of Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory, Asa Highsmith of Oklahoma City, OK, Andras Holzmann of Branchburg, NJ, Hunter Hopcroft of Richmond, VA, Nicholas Hufford of Danville, IN, Michael Hunter of Athens, OH, Matthew Hyland of Vandenberg AFB, CA, Theresa Johnson of Petaluma, CA, Elizabeth Johnson of Springfield, MA, Roxanne Johnston of Big Spring, TX, Justin Jones of Collingwood, ON, John Keck of Asheville, NC, Ezra Keshet of Ann Arbor, MI, Ryan Kilpatrick of Grand Rapids, MI, Taylor Klepper of Hicksville, OH, Amy Korte of Chicago, IL, Laurie Krivitz of Saint Paul, MN, Peter Lazzopina of Harlingen, TX, Matthew Leight of Pensacola, FL, Gabriel Leoni of San Francisco, CA, Brian Lester of Drexel Hill, PA, Daniel Lindemann of Pensacola, FL, James Lomuscio of Pittsburgh, PA, Bill Longley of Austin, TX, Ruby Lopez Harper of Silver Spring, MD, Jennifer Luedtke of Washington, DC, Alastair Lyon of Richardson, TX, Michael Mangrum of Pensacola, FL, Colin Margetts of Edmonton, AB, Mike and Barbara Marohn of Brainerd, MN, Erica Mattison of Dorchester Center, MA, William McCann of San Francisco, CA, Monica McGarry of Kamloops, BC, Stephen McNally of Costa Mesa, CA, Matthew McNatt of Eugene, OR, Laura McShane of Cleveland, OH, Shawna Mefferd Kelty of Plattsburgh, NY, Andrew Meleta of Falls Church, VA, James Merriman of Fort Wayne, IN, Nick Millar of Littleton, CO, Eric Miller of Bath, PA, Constanza Miner of Brownsville, TX, Raymond Minervini II of Traverse City, MI, Michael Mirochna of Valparaiso, IN, James Moechnig of Hager City, WI, Richard Mohler of Seattle, WA, Alec Mondello of El Paso, TX, Andrew Moore of Austin, TX, John Morgan of Keizer, OR, Mary Jane Moriarty of Indianapolis, IN, Carter Nevill of Warrenton, VA, Cecile Newcomb of Roanoke, VA, Chris Ngoun of Burien, WA, Anthony Nguyen of Brooklyn, NY, Joel Noble of Denver, CO, Mark Noll of Seattle, WA, Eric Norton of Baltimore, MD, Vicki Oakes of Ortonville, MN, Neil Olinski of New Haven, CT, Peter Ostrowski of Suttons Bay, MI, Marcel Parnas of Randolph, MA, Robert Parolek of Martinez, CA, Jesse Paulson of Milton, ON, Stratis Perros of Ventura, CA, Martha Polkey of Leesburg, VA, Adrianne Proeller of Atlanta, GA, Mark Reed of New York, NY, Chad Reischl of Jeffersonville, IN, Gary Reiter of Indianapolis, IN, Ben Rhodes of Farmerville, LA, Steven Richard of Apple Valley, CA, Mary Riesen of Mason City, IA, Orlando Rivera of Dallas, TX, Daniel Robinson of Virginia Beach, VA, Sarah Rose of Beltsville, MD, Andrew Russell of New Hartford, NY, Jeffrey Sadighi of Everett, WA, Kevin Sanders of Toronto, ON, Paula Schikdge of Asbury Park, NJ, Barry Scott of Merced, CA, Stephanie Seagle of Salem, VA, Kurt Seidel of Phoenixville, PA, Ryan Shaw of Beaverton, OR, Christopher Shawyer, Joseph Sheehan of University City, MO, William Simon of Albuquerque, NM, Trinity Simons of Washington, DC, Courtney Simpson of Bowser, BC, Luke Sims of Winona, MN, Adam Sipherd of Orem, UT, Jamie Slagel of Dallas, TX, Vik Slen of Jacksonville, FL, Gordon Smith of San Jose, CA, Barbara Southworth of Cape Town, South Africa, Katharine Spadacenta of Camden, SC, Ryan Stempien of Buffalo, NY, Harold Suggs of Loris, SC, Brett Swendig of Wylie, TX, David Takahashi of Boulder, CO, Marian Thorpe of Guelph, ON, David Thurlow of Toronto, ON, Joshua Torchia of Long Beach, CA, Rachel Trignano of Denver, CO, Scott Trudeau of Ann Arbor, MI, David Tucker of Welland, ON, Jim Van Cura of Lompoc, CA, Vickie vanRavenswaay of Fonthill, ON, Thom Vetter of Wenatchee, WA, John Vraets of Hamilton, ON, Dayne Wagner of Seattle, WA, Aldria Walker of Pensacola, FL, Margy Waller of Cincinnati, OH, Marty Walsh of Mason City, IA, Nathaniel Washatka of Cincinnati, OH, Graham Watt of Grand Forks, BC, Bonnie Wessler of Ypsilanti, MI, Melinda Wharton of Atlanta, GA, Natalie Wilkerson of Frankfort, KY, Chris Williams of Eugene, OR, Taylor Willis of Arlington, VA, Joshua Winters of Del Valle, TX, Ginger Wireman of Richland, WA, Terry Witt of Bartlett, IL, Sharon Woods of Laingsburg, MI, Dannie Wright of Cartersville, GA, Jordan Yee of Pensacola, FL, Nancy York of Fort Collins, CO, Timothy Zelgert of Bloomington, IL, and Eric Zosso of Valparaiso, IN.