Author: Becky McCray

This is one of those ideas that could work for any town, of any size, anywhere on earth. When I heard about it, I knew you’d want to hear about it, too.  It’s the Mobile Toy Library: a rolling cart filled with outdoor toys that gets put out at public places like parks. That’s really…

I have this idea that meetings that deal with downtown would be more fun if they were held outside, actually in the downtown. If you’re having a meeting about anything to do with downtown, wouldn’t it make sense to do that where you can look around at downtown? If you can’t think of anyplace to…

At the national Main Street Conference, I saw a brilliant demonstration of how Gathering Your Crowd generates more innovative solutions to all kinds of problems.  I went to a session presented by AARP on livable communities, which includes walkability, accessibility and all kinds of things to make your town better for people of all ages….

Which idea would you support to revitalize your town:  a town-wide beautification project like America Blooms a tourism promotion that leverages small investments by locals a rock hunt Which way would you vote?  It’s a trick question. All of those have succeeded, just in different towns.  Castle Rock, Washington, adopted an America Blooms beautification project….

I’ve been asked about what I believe about small towns, what brings us together, what our shared beliefs are. This Creed is my answer.  We are a community of possibilities, not of problems. We are action takers. We are optimistic. It’s not about what this town used to be. We have people right now, assets…

There’s always that one guy in the back. This time, he was a county commissioner. He’d just heard the Idea Friendly method for the first time, how it could be an alternative to writing formal plans and how it can apply to anything. With maybe just a hint of smugness, he put this out there:…

Lack of broadband internet is one of the biggest challenges I hear about from small towns in the US. Many of you have awful connectivity, and you just want to get into the modern age!  While there’s no one magic answer that works for every town, we can apply some Idea Friendly thinking here and…

You’ve seen signs that thank people for their past donations. Let’s put up a sign to thank people for their future donations.  Right next to where you’ll be putting an improvement, put up a sign “This improvement will be funded by your future donations.” For bonus points, also list how they can donate. You can do…

We spend enough time reminding people our town has a past. We don’t spend enough time reminding people our town has a future. If every mural depicts the past, who is showing the future?  Every town needs a future mural, or a series of them.  I love that you did a display of historic photos…

Your big idea for your town doesn’t require unanimous consent. You just need you and your big idea. Put your idea on a flag, and plant your flag where everyone can see it. People who like the idea will be drawn to you.  Here’s the thing: don’t tear down anyone else’s flag. You don’t have…

This one is a simple idea that came up when I was visiting Cathlamet, Washington, population 553: Post your local hashtag where visitors will see it.  The Cathlamet Chamber of Commerce does an awesome local photo contest. Most of the photos come from locals. They use these on their annual events calendar and other publications. …

This is as close to magic as I know in changing people’s behaviors.  If you want to change how someone acts, change their identity, how they see themselves.   If you see yourself as a certain kind of person, that’s how you’ll act. Makes sense, right? If you see yourself as an involved member of your…