Author: Becky McCray

“When you get a mural, that’s it for your town. It’s going to die.”  I heard that a long time ago, but I don’t know how that got started. Maybe if your town has been struggling, someone will want to turn things around, and at some point someone is going to suggest painting a mural….

How many times has your town lost its economic reason for being?  Think back to the reason your town was founded. Did it start with farming or transportation? Maybe it was minerals or other natural resources. No matter what it was, I’m willing to bet that it’s not the prime driver in your town right…

Every small town struggles with finding enough volunteers for their projects and events. That’s what you told us on the Survey of Rural Challenges, and that’s what you tell me when we talk in person. You’re not alone. You may feel like you’re alone when it comes time to get things done, but you’re not…

You’ve heard me talk about “Take Small Steps” before. It’s part of the Idea Friendly framework. It’s how you and the crowd accomplish the big vision you have for your community. But not every small step is an Idea Friendly Small Step.  Here’s an example. When Deb worked at a chamber of commerce, they were…

Do you remember that I forgot to notice how much my town changed?  I bring this up because Stephen Koranda was telling me a bit about his work on marketing my small town. (Just over lunch. I’m not on the committee or anything like that.) Part of his job includes a slogan. You and I both…

During a downtown walk-through, a woman picked a quiet moment to ask me a side question.  “What do you think about diagonal parking?” she asked.  I allowed that I had no opinion on it.  “Oh. I thought in your travels you might have found… from other towns…” she said.  That’s when I stopped the entire…

Want to add a new level of interest to your downtown? Take advantage of your rooftop spaces.  In Oklahoma City, the Museum of Art has a rooftop space that they turned into a hangout spot complete with a bar selling drinks. I was invited up there for a get-together before a conference. They said it…

Delmont, South Dakota (pop 234), was struck by a tornado in 2015. Several people were injured, and the whole town was evacuated for safety. You could forgive the people of Delmont for despairing for the future of their town.  Clean up and repairs started, and the town slowly made progress on recovering. In the months…

You want to bring more life and activity to your downtown, but big events are a big pain. Let’s do some tiny events instead. They’re a small pain, but a lot of fun.  Recruit anyone who gives lessons to hold a student performance (could be music, dance, martial arts, drama, writing, language, anything!) Students bring families,…

People tell me about their big dreams, the big goals and the compelling vision for where they want to end up. We talk about what is holding them back. Often they can’t get started on it because it’s too big.  A woman in Kansas can picture her dream so clearly: a community dinner that shuts…

Marci Penner with the Kansas Sampler Foundation shared this story. I couldn’t resist it:  An empty can of “elbow grease” is being passed around in Lindsborg, Kansas. A small group decided to recognize those who were making an extra effort in Lindsborg. What happened next was beautiful. The can quickly became a coveted item that…

A couple of people lately have mentioned wanting to add new benches in their downtown. I’m all for that. When you give people a place to sit, especially in a comfortable place, they’re more likely to linger. And we want people to linger downtown. It’s good for business.  First was Fred Kent from PPS Placemaking…