It’s true. Our wonderful small towns and communities really are the ‘backbone of America.’ These are the places where generations of Americans have grown up, gone to school, played sports, enjoyed family, and participated in their communities. With pride and local spirit in abundance. It’s where neighbors have gotten to know each other and where we all have developed bonds that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, though, in recent years many of these towns have experienced hard times as businesses have left, main streets have been hollowed out and there has developed a lack of hope and opportunity. It is precisely this issue that the Sunshine Initiative was created to address. To begin a movement where together we can reinvigorate and restore vitality to our small towns and communities. And here’s how it all got started.
A few years ago, my wife Karen and I were driving through my old hometown of Newport. As I drove past my old house and high school, I had a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. Memories of football games, ice skating, shopping on main street came to mind. Yet I was struck by what I saw as I continued down the main street. In the town that raised me, that was once so lively, it had changed – it wasn’t the same. It now looked like so many other main streets across small town America that have experienced a long slow economic decline. There was an absence of life. Where people once shopped, I saw vacant storefronts secondhand stores and boarded up buildings. Where there once was hope, there was an air of resignation and to some extent, despair.
It was right then that we committed to do all we could to change the situation. To help lead an effort to revitalize Newport, New Hampshire. We have since named this effort the ‘Sunshine Initiative,’ after the town’s actual nickname. Newport is called the ‘Sunshine Town’ – named by a vaudeville performer who once proclaimed that “Newport is the Sunshine Town; It’s the town where the sun shines on both sides of the street!” And now a hundred or so years later, Newport remains the Sunshine Town, and we are so excited to say that Newport is once again ‘on the move!’ Good things are happening. With the creation of the Sunshine Initiative and the combined efforts of hundreds of people in this small community, there is an exciting revitalization in the works. The town is attracting new businesses, jobs are being created, the beautiful opera house in the center of town which had fallen into disrepair has recently been renovated, there is now a robotics program in the high school and even a new dog park on the way.
What has been done in Newport needs to be replicated in thousands of towns across our great country. And the great news is that it Can Be Done! We have developed and will be continuing to identify ‘Best Practices’ via the Sunshine Initiative that can be shared with other communities. And while the ‘Playbook’ may be slightly different and tailored to the needs of each community, there is one powerful aspect that will always be the same. The most important ingredient will always be ‘attitude.’ A positive ‘can do’ approach that unleashes the power of the human spirit.
What started in Newport is part of a growing movement to take control of our destiny and make great things happen in our communities, to lend a hand, and to build a new future. We’re incredibly excited by the opportunity that lies ahead and together we can and will transform the lives of the next generation of Americans.
