Written by: Abigail Lee, Lee Realty
I was honored to be a winner of the Chamber’s Pride in Place photo contest, but honestly, choosing the photos to submit was the hardest part! I had at least 20 pictures on my phone that I could have entered because there are so many things that make me proud to call Mason City and North Iowa home.
The photo I ultimately chose was of my daughter walking her dog through the new “Harmony in Light” sculpture installation along the Riverwalk. It is absolutely gorgeous, but to me, the photo represents more than a beautiful piece of art. It represents the way our community continues to grow, create, and give people places to gather and enjoy where they live.
That’s what I love about the idea of “Pride in Place.” It gives us an opportunity to stop for a moment and recognize the things we sometimes take for granted. I love my hometown, and I am always looking for an opportunity to share that love. I hope the Chamber makes this photo contest an annual tradition!
I also appreciated the opportunity to attend and participate in the Chamber’s Community Conversations event at the MacNider Museum, where the photo contest winners were announced. The event brought people together for a combination of speakers, group discussions and activities. We also had the opportunity to see the results of the Chamber’s community survey, which had more than 300 responses.
What I enjoyed most was hearing other people’s perspectives. I didn’t always agree with every idea, but that’s exactly why these conversations are important. Listening to someone with a different perspective can open your mind to thoughts and possibilities you may not have considered before. It’s easy to complain about what we think could be better in our community, especially online. It’s much harder to sit down with other people, come up with solutions and actually roll up our sleeves to be part of the work.
That, to me, is what loving where you live really means. It’s not just being proud of our community – it’s being willing to participate in making it better. We all have a role to play in creating the kind of community we want to call home. I appreciate the Chamber for creating opportunities to do both: celebrate the place we love and bring people together to have the conversations that can help make our community even stronger.