Mayor shares what makes city great

GREENCASTLE -- How often do we actually stop and take a look around at the great things happening in Greencastle? Do we show appreciation for the folks and organizations that are making a difference in our community?

The answer to both of these questions is, "Not often enough."

Ours is a community filled with stories of partnerships, collaboration and innovation, and I want us to do a better job of sharing these stories with you. I also want the rest of Indiana and the country to know why Greencastle is a wonderful place to live and work.

This column marks the first in a semi-regular series of stories about why Greencastle is great -- a series about the people, businesses, service organizations, educational institutions, leaders and future leaders in our community.

And while this column simply marks the "kick-off" of this series, next month you can expect to read about some of the many people who volunteer their time and talents to projects throughout the city.

To further share the things that are taking place here, we've launched a blog through the city's website. You can find the "CommunityForward" blog on our homepage, www.cityofgreencastle.com, on the right hand side. We encourage you to check out the blog and comment frequently, as it features posts on what's happening in your neighborhoods, as well as photos and helpful information. We'll even have "guest posters" on the blog every once in a while; in fact, Councilwoman Jinsie Bingham's post about the upcoming Third Ward Neighborhood Meeting will be featured soon.

In addition, we're taking our efforts to shine the spotlight on Greencastle to the world of social media. We have an official City of Greencastle page on Facebook now, and there you will find news from the Mayor's Office, as well as fun photos, links to information on upcoming or current events, and questions where you can offer feedback on your community.

This page provides us with a way to interact directly with you, and we're excited to see what you think about this new way of communicating. Be sure to search for "City of Greencastle" on Facebook and "like" us when you get a chance -- our page can be identified by its use of the city's seal in the profile picture.

As I mentioned earlier, watch the Banner Graphic for future stories about our community. On top of the volunteer story next month, we plan to share with you other profiles of partnerships that are key to the continued growth and success of our city. And like the blog, we'll also have other folks from the area contribute stories, as well.

We look forward to hearing what you think about this column, as well as our new CommunityForward blog and Facebook page. If you have ideas for story subjects or posts, please send them our way, either by email at communityforward@cityofgreencastle.com, or by commenting or posting online.