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We love small towns! These are the wonderful places that form the backbone of America. They are the main streets where every shop is owned by a local family, and there is a feeling of delight each time you walk through the door. These are warm, caring communities where you know your neighbors, you care about their families – and they care about you. There is a community spirit, a community pride, and a sense that these are the places we can truly call home. And this is precisely why we created the Sunshine Initiative, along with our non-profit Small Town Turnaround organization – to revitalize and regenerate the positive energy that radiates and emanates throughout these wonderful small-town communities.
I grew up in a small town, known as the ‘Sunshine Town,’ Newport, New Hampshire. Located in the western part of the state, Newport embodies this spirit of community in every possible way. We cheer for our Newport High School Tiger athletes. We attend Town Meeting, and we congregate at the Salt Hill Pub. We love our Winter Carnival, the oldest winter carnival in the nation, and we go all out to welcome guests at our annual Apple Pie Fest on the Newport town common every August. And these are just a few of the truly ‘Newport’ things that make our town special and unique.
The truth is that every town has its unique aspects, and in a sense, its own ‘story.’ And growing up in a small town or living in one as an adult, you cannot help but pick up the essential elements that define the community. And, as you do, you develop a deep identity and a feeling of mutual respect and togetherness with others in the community. It’s really something special.
You are more than simply a number – in a small town, you are a valued member of the community – in a word, you are ‘special.’
With this in mind, we are dedicating this edition of the Sunshine Report – to a celebration of our small towns - in New Hampshire and across our great nation. The more that we can foster a feeling of respect for the individual, the stronger our sense of community. The greater our civility, the stronger our bonds are to one another. And not surprisingly, these values form the core of the experiences we find in our small towns.
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