By Amy Fairweather, Creative Director, Collaborate Freeport
January 9, 2018
Let’s cut straight to the chase. The level of progress being made in the community is undeniable, has accelerated at a very high rate of speed, and is likely to continue in this pattern until the new matrix and structure is set and functioning. This change is what we’ve been asking for and it is exciting to see. This progress isn’t being made by doing the same things we’ve always done. It’s being made by pushing through old paradigms and philosophies and taking bold new approaches to the same old problems. The parasite of negativity, skepticism and criticism is being drowned out by more healthy attitudes, invested people and open hearts.
Collaborate Freeport was created out of necessity … the necessity to tell our story with a fresh perspective and utilizing today’s technology. The ALL IN campaign focuses on marketing to an otherwise missed demographic and it’s being done in a concise, collective and compelling way. A few local agencies saw the value of this movement and joined together to rally for a new form of government, which was embraced by the voters.
We are now eight months into a new way of doing things and the chemistry of Freeport is changing. We have seen a tremendous shift in attitudes towards the future of Freeport and Stephenson County through the latest survey we conducted and this data verifies we are meeting our goal of shifting the narrative. As Freeport’s late Arnold H. Glasow once quipped, “progress is what happens when impossibility yields to necessity.”
2018 is the year to say what you mean and mean what you say, and there are a few things I would personally like to clarify to the community about what Collaborate Freeport is and stands for:
Collaborate Freeport is a movement created to help stir up the community and encourage everyone to work better together, collectively. The brand “Freeport ALL IN” is the internal campaign created to call people to action and to ask themselves, “Am I ALL IN, have I been ALL IN, do I need to get ALL IN?” and start seeing themselves as a part of the whole and a brighter future. The brand “ALL IN Freeport” is the external campaign which invites people to our area by leveraging our assets and telling them about the good things we have to offer.
– Collaborate Freeport isn’t a club with membership … it’s a movement and anyone can get involved. It’s not mine… it’s ours.
– Collaborate Freeport doesn’t discriminate. We are not just working for the downtown or for a particular demographic. We promote those things in the area worth someone’s time to stop. We have plenty of things to promote and this is just the beginning.
– Collaborate Freeport champions the following values: history; art, culture and design; the outdoor experience; hard work/entrepreneurial spirit; giving back; and diversity. These values are the backbone to the success of our area.
– Collaborate Freeport’s three-year campaign is funded by 86 percent private money. Here’s the breakdown: We’ve raised $436,350 to date — $20,000 of the $436,350 is public and has been invested by the Freeport Park District, $40,000 of $436,350 has been invested via reallocation of the CVB’s budgeted hotel/motel tax that comes from outside of the city (this is not local tax). $376,350 has been invested by private money. In other words, Collaborate Freeport has injected an infusion of well over a quarter of a million dollars of new investment to regionally market our local economy. This is a huge gesture to all of us from our private citizens and businesses that see the value. We have 37 private investors to be exact.
Moving forward, it is my wish that each of us can start looking at things long term. What can we do to stop looking backward and start putting things back together in a way that is sustainable for our future’s future. Let’s get out of our own way and let’s be ALL IN.
Journal Standard article link.
