And the 2022 Strongest Town Winner Is...
A month ago, we launched the 2022 Strongest Town contest with an amazing field of 16 contestants chosen by Strong Towns staff from among a host of applicants. Our Sweet 16 featured communities of many shapes and sizes, with approaches to building strength and financial resilience as unique as the places, themselves.
Through successive rounds we learned more about these cities, even as the number of remaining contestants was halved again and again. In Round 1, all 16 teams answered a series of questions on topics ranging from transportation and housing, to civic engagement and how their cities are addressing their financial health. In Round 2, our “Elite Eight” gave us a photo tour of some of the things that make their places great. And in Round 3, representatives from the Final Four cities sat down for short podcast interviews with our program director, Rachel Quednau.
Which brings us to this week’s championship round. On Monday, representatives from our two finalist towns—Norwood, Ohio and Jasper, Indiana—participated in a webcast with Rachel Quednau and Jay Stange of Strong Towns. The votes rolled in until polls closed yesterday at 12 p.m. CDT.
And so, after four rounds and tens of thousands of unique votes cast, we are now ready to announce the winner. The 2022 Strongest Town is…
Jasper, Indiana
Congratulations to the Jasper team—Mayor Dean Vonderheide, Mark Nowotarski, Nancy Eckerle, Kate Schwenk, Darla Blazey, Whitney Lubbers, and Lisa Bower—and to the whole town of Jasper!
Downtown Jasper, Indiana.
Jasper’s bid to become the 2022 Strongest Town was a steady march of solid victories. The town of 16,703 is located in the heart of the American Heartland. Draw a triangle connecting Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis, Indiana; and St. Louis, and you’ll find Jasper in the Southeast corner. The Jasper Team made a deep impression round after round, including getting past powerhouse Champaign, Illinois, in the Elite Eight with a two percentage point margin. One of the town’s great strengths was its decision to form the Heart of Jasper, a diverse group of organizations that leverages existing assets, transforms those in need, and instills new energy through creative programs and collaborative leadership. The town is always careful to listen to its residents and to build community engagement, but also minds its financial health with its solid Impact Jasper community investment plan.
In Monday’s Live Webcast of the Finals, there was a great spirit of mutual admiration between Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide and the other finalist, Norwood, Ohio’s, Alisha Loch. Norwood, a wonderful community on the edge of Cincinnati, was a great audience favorite in this competition. We are grateful to the Norwood Team for enriching our contest.
The final round was close, with Jasper winning 51.3% of the votes to Norwood’s 48.7%. We hope others will look to Jasper as an example of what it means to build lasting strength and resilience in their communities. Strong Towns’ founder and president, Charles Marohn, will be visiting our winner in the coming months to present the Strongest Town 2022 Championship Award in person.
Thank you to everyone who followed along with the contest and voted, especially our members, whose experience, insight and industry make this organization possible.
