Building a Better Forgottonia Together
By: Forgottonia Times™ Report
Welcome to the second edition of The Forgottonia Times™! Last month, we launched our free monthly publication with hopes and aspirations to engage with our fellow Forgottonians and build the support required to sustain a paper dedicated to serving the people of Forgottonia. We are thrilled to announce that there has been an outpouring of support from advertisers, subscribers, and followers from all over the area. We want to thank everyone who supports our work from the bottom of our hearts; because of you, this is possible!
Last month, we discussed our mission to build a better Forgottonia by connecting and serving you and our communities! We are motivated to do this because we are profoundly excited and hopeful about our area's future. Our optimism about the future of Forgottonia is not entirely ungrounded. Our knowledge of our past, in part, inspires it.
From the once momentous Willis Steel building in Galesburg sitting idly off to the side of the Don Moffitt overpass to the now demolished Haeger Pottery Plant in Macomb, Forgottonia is full of landmarks once home to a booming industry and culture. Generations of farmers, builders, and innovators preceded us, and their heritage has left its mark. Today, Forgottonia is full of farmers, engineers, artists, writers, woodworkers, and people skilled in their trade. Innovators, business leaders, and creatives are abundant throughout our communities. Healthy families, great learning institutions, and bustling communities span our area.
Yet, as strong as the signs of our dynamic nature are in our shared culture, we have witnessed a decline in many ways. The powerful force that our area's economy, industry, and culture once was now seems dormant compared to the communities we live in today. Great architects who cared for the beauty of our towns and communities constructed gorgeous cities with brick and stone. When looking at our area's buildings and assets, one must naturally conclude that we have inherited something amazing. The elegant brick buildings of our downtown are over 100 years old now, and few projects from recent years rival their greatness. We have adjusted to abandoned buildings and decaying facades.
Now, our businesses and communities sit in the shadow of corporate giants from far away places, and they are only sometimes aware of or interested in serving and helping our area and communities. We, the people of Forgottonia, do not own much of what is new and alive in our area; in many ways, we did not build it.
This is the nature of our modern and connected world. We do not need to fight it, nor does it inhibit our ability to improve our area. But knowing where we are and where we have been may motivate you. Our Communities are worth fighting for. We can not wait for someone else to make Forgottonia better.
So, fellow Forgottonians, the question is left to us: How do we build a better Forgottonia?
With a question that broad, there are hundreds of possible answers, and we hope many of you will answer that question in your own way. For our part in this shared mission we have been hard at work brainstorming how we can contribute to this question, and in doing so, we have focused on the three following goals: We want to spread positive local news, support local businesses, and help people find good jobs and employees.
1) Forgottonias Monthly Good News
Spreading positivity and good news is an excellent place to start! Did something positive happen in your life or community recently? Did a family member recover from an illness? Did a neighbor do something kind for the neighborhood? If there is any good news to share, we want to share it! Send us your good news, and we will post it in our new section:
Please send us your good news on Facebook, email, or by going to www.forgottoniatimes.com/goodnews
2) The Forgottonian Cup Challenge
Supporting local businesses, events, and groups that are local and/or engaged in our communities is a great way to build a better Forgottonia! With this goal in mind, we are excited to announce The Forgottonia Cup! We will select 10 locations across Forgottonia every month for a monthly challenge to visit all the locations. This will encourage people to leave their comfort zone and explore all the great things Forgottonia has to offer!
3) Work In Forgottonia
We often ask people and businesses across Forgottonia what they need help with and where they believe there is room for improvement. We often hear that people need help finding all the options for jobs in their area. There is also a common feeling among employers that it is difficult to find people to fill positions on their team. This led us to launch our new feature:
Our new website, www.forgottoniaworks.com, is up and operational, ready to help you find a job or find a team member. View job listings locally and apply to your favorites with ease. We hope this can become the best way to find work and hire locally!
