Marion named nation's Strongest Town
MARION, Ohio (WCMH) — It's been an exciting few days for the city of Marion since the community found out it won the Strongest Towns Contest.
“Everyone is thrilled over the moon and the town is electric right now," said James Walker, part of the Marion County Regional Planning Commission.
The non-profit Strong Towns organized the contest which is open to communities across the United States and Canada. Walker was born and raised in Marion and put together the city's application for the competition.
“Really a lot of the strength from this town comes from the collaborative efforts, it just comes from a determination to make something of this place that we’ve all decided to call home," he said.
A "strong town" is not perfect but prioritizes progress in transportation, housing, and fiscal resilience, according to the contest's website.
Others heavily involved with the community said Marion battling through big employers leaving town and the opioid epidemic, along with the help of local revitalization efforts, have made the city what it is today.
“It’s been a long effort step by step," said Ken Lengieza, who was the planning director from 1981 to 2018 and still works for the Marion County Regional Planning Commission.
Steve Estep, lead pastor of MarionNaz, said when he announced the win at the Sunday service, there was an eruption of cheering.
“It makes an impact on not only how outsiders see Marion but how people from Marion see themselves, so I think it's been kind of a big boost to our collective sense of identity and community self-esteem that, ‘Hey, there’s something good happening here that's not happening everywhere.’"
Walker said about 50 communities entered the competition with 16 making it into the bracket. Marion won with what Walker said was a combination of public voting and Strong Towns membership voting.
“It's been a long road,” he said. “It took a lot of work, not just in this contest but just in this town over decades to get us to where we are.”