We recently connected with Mary C Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Mary C, appreciate you joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

Norwood Together is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in the small city of Norwood, OH an enclave of Cincinnati. Starting as a completely grassroots organization one way we have been able to hire employees is through the Xavier University work study program. We currently have 4 Xavier interns who do most of our social media work. Our college-aged interns have plenty of experience using social media, and if they have never used a specific platform they are not afraid to research and figure it out on their own. One student specifically works on updating the website, one posts on several platforms based on the calendar, and one works on our montly newsletter. A process that has been very successful for us started with a planning session on communication. The team discussed our mission and vision and ways to connect our social media with the community. Calendars were made with local events and national holidays. Social media posts were created for each one. Many of them focused on businesses in the city, for example, “visit Indian Mound Cafe for March Madness.” Digital stories can be found on our YouTube channel as part of our digital storytelling project. Each month a short digital story featuring Norwood residents is posted on the channel and shared on social media. Once they have aired the link to them is posted on our website. The digital stories have been very successful. Our goal is to have something posted a minimum of 3 times per week. Over time our Facebook page, for example, has grown to approximately 2000 followers with some posts receiving up to 5000 views.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My husband and I retired and moved to Norwood in 2015. We noticed pretty quickly a negative perception from some people about the city. That perception led us on a journey to figure out why. The history was much like that of many midwestern rust belt towns. Once a thriving city with an industrial focus Norwood quickly declined in the late 1900s with the evolution of newer factories and the movement of the local industry out of the city. Change began to happen in the early 2000s as rising home prices led many young professionals into the community. As luck would have it a friend of mine invited me to a monthly “Place Matters” lunch organized by LISC (local initiatives support corporation). After the luncheon the director approached us and asked if we could help her to get involved in Norwood. We said yes and began working with LISC and other city residents on a Quality of Life Plan for the city. After the plan was rolled out in early 2019 we realized to help accomplish the goals of the plan that we needed to become a 501(c)3 nonprofit and Norwood Together was born. Since then we have been involved in asset based community development utilizing creative placemaking to involve local residents and invite others into our city to experience the positive things that happen here. Our first major accomplishment was being awarded a Hamilton County mini- plannning grant to develop a plan for the main thoroughfare passing through our town. Currently we have a welcome bag program for new residents full of information about the city as well as contributions from local businesses. We host an annual historic home tour, an international art show, and an award celebration for local volunteers. Our Get-Together events and block party grant program connect residents with each other and with local government officials. We encourage volunteerism on committees and with local clean ups. Support comes for economic development through start up grants written for new business development. Last year we were awarded a CNU (congress for the new urbanism) legacy project to develop a plan for bike lanes in the city. What makes me most proud is how far we have come in such a short period of time. Because of our generous sponsors we have been able to partner with other organizations to provide programming in the city. Local leaders often thank us for the difference we have made and how the perception of the city is changing. New development is happening, new people continue to move here, and they are getting involved in the schools and in other ways in the city. It makes me proud to think we played a small role in helping good things happen here.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As I mentioned earlier my husband and I moved here in 2015. When we gathered a group of residents to be on the steering committee for the Quality of Life plan we only knew a handful of people. What I didn’t understand was the history of the long time city residents. I learned through the process and as I have met more and more people here, that they are the resilient ones. The people who grew up here and love their home town and have stayed and worked over the years to continue the legacy of the town they love. They have so many good memories and a wealth of history. Some of them felt hurt when a group of new people came in and, in their view, tried to “change” their hometown. Now, I know many people who have lived here their entire lives, some for generations. They are wonderful people who love it here. I guess what I had to unlearn was the belief that no one had tried to make a difference. Over years things change, but that doesn’t mean that old traditions aren’t still valuable. Relationships across the decades are meaningful and produce a depth that can’t be duplicated. Bringing old and new together is a good thing, and more can get done when we work together.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My husband and I decided to move to the Cincinnati area when we retired because our 4 grandchildren were living here. We started looking for a house a year before we planned to move and bought our home in 2014. Our home is close to a local church, so we went to the church with our family and met some of the local residents. One of them was Angela Pancella. Angela was the Director of Woven Oak, a local umbrella agency for small groups that did not have the capacity to become their own nonprofit. When we started hearing negative comments about the city a friend suggested I touch base with Angela to get her perspective. Angela was not phased by the negativity. She was a strong positive advocate for Norwood and began inviting me to meetings with groups of people who were doing wonderful things in the city. One of the invites was to the “Place Matters” lunch mentioned earlier. After their director approached us, we headed to her car for the ride home and together decided to move forward. For a few years she had been interested in the Quality of Life process and wanted to see it happen here. Angela was involved in a group called ASAP Norwood (Activating Substance Abuse Prevention). That group had done such a great job rolling out the “Tobacco 21” project in Norwood that the health organization working on that project agreed to fund the QOL process in the city. All it took was for 2 random women to say “yes” to get the process rolling. Angela and I led the group together until shortly after we received our 501(c)3, and she moved away from the area. I know I would not have been able to found the organization on my own. Angela had the perfect personality to get it going, and we made a great team along with so many others who put the time and energy in to make the plan a reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.norwoodtogether.org
• Instagram: @norwoodtogether
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/NorwoodTogether
• Linkedin: LinkedIn/NorwoodTogether
• Youtube: @NorwoodTogether
• Other: https://nextdoor/norwoodtogether

Image Credits

Dyah Miller photography

Julianna Boehm photography