One Thousand Mornings Together

Vol. IV, No. 19 - Celebrating a Milestone

Today’s Civic Capacity is the 1,000th edition of this newsletter that has been published.

That’s a big round number, but what it really represents is 1,000 mornings that you’ve let this little newsletter pull up a chair to your kitchen table, your office desk, your phone in the parking lot before a meeting. It represents 1,000 chances we’ve taken together on the idea that residents, when treated like adults and given clear information, will rise to the occasion.

When this started, there was no guarantee it would last. There are a lot of newsletters in the world and not many of them make it to 1,000 issues. Most fade after the excitement of the first dozen sends, or when life gets busy. The only reason this one didn’t is because you kept opening it, reading it, and telling me—directly and indirectly—“keep going.”

What This Milestone Really Means

The number itself doesn’t fundamentally change anything here in Miami County. Streets still need paved, budgets still need balanced, and elections still happen. What 1,000 editions does signal, though, is that there is a community of people here who refuse to be spectators in their own hometowns.

Over these issues, we’ve walked through property taxes and millage, annexations and zoning maps, township governance and city councils. We’ve sat with the small-print notices, the quiet agenda items, the meetings that have no attendance. We’ve tried to translate bureaucratic jargon into plain English and connect the dots between one small vote and the long-term story of a place.

None of this work is glamorous. No one grows up dreaming of reading staff reports with their morning coffee. But you have shown, by your steady attention, that it matters to you how decisions get made, not just what the final score is.

The Quiet Ways You’ve Shaped This

I’ve lost track of how many times someone has pulled me aside and said something like, “Thank yor for what you are doing. Keep it up!” It’s always said with a broad smile and a sense of enthusiasm. Every time, it’s a reminder that Civic Capacity doesn’t really live on a screen; it lives in your conversations with neighbors, coworkers, and family.

You’ve told me about printing out an article to hand to a family member who “doesn’t do email.” You’ve forwarded a newsletter to a neighbor before a meeting.

You’ve also been honest when I’ve missed something, or when you thought I was too soft, or too hard, on a particular decision or official. That feedback doesn’t always feel comfortable in the moment, but it has made this work better and sharper. This was never intended to be a one-way broadcast. It has always been a conversation.

Looking Back at the Beginning

If you go back to the earliest editions, you can see a simple idea taking shape: local government rarely explains itself, and in that gap, rumors and mistrust grow. The goal was never to “catch” anyone, but to lay out, in plain language, what was happening and why it mattered.

Back then, I didn’t know if more than a handful of people would care. I suspected there were residents who felt out of the loop and wanted a way in—but you never know until you hit send.

You proved that hunch right. Slowly, the subscriber count grew. Slowly, more names showed up in the reply line. Slowly, I started to hear about Civic Capacity from people I had never met before.

If there’s a word that describes how I feel about that, it’s gratitude. Gratitude that you gave this experiment a chance. Gratitude that you kept coming back. Gratitude that you were willing to trust an email enough to let it shape how you show up in public life.

What I Hope You Take From This

If these 1,000 editions have done anything, I hope they’ve reinforced a simple truth: this is your community. The people sitting on the dais or behind the counter at the city building are important, but they are not the whole story. A healthy civic life depends on residents who feel informed enough, and confident enough, to ask questions and share their perspective.

I also hope these issues have made local government feel a little less distant and mysterious, even when it is frustrating. When you understand the process, you are less likely to throw up your hands in cynicism and more likely to say, “Okay, I don’t love this, but I know where to start if I want to change it.”

If you’ve ever walked into a meeting a bit more prepared because of something you read here, or if you’ve ever felt less alone in caring about this stuff, then these 1,000 editions have been worth it.

A Simple Thank You

So, on the occassion of this milestone, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for bringing Civic Capacity into your day, again and again. Thank you for your patience on the mornings when the newsletter arrived a little later than usual. Thank you for your grace when a typo slipped through. Thank you to those who chose to support this work financially, making it possible to keep this publication independent and focused on Miami County.

Most of all, thank you for caring about your hometown enough to read one more article, ask one more question, attend one more meeting.

Tomorrow, we’ll publish edition 1,001. The day after that, if you’ll have me, we’ll be right back to work on 1,002—still trying, in our own small way, to inform, inspire, and involve the people who call this place home.

This is what it looks like when residents stay informed. If you find value in this work, share it with a neighbor, a colleague, or anyone who cares about this community. Paid subscriptions keep it going — $5 a month.

This Month, we are doing something different! We are partnering with the Troy-Miami County Public Library by using this platform to raise funds for the Dolly Partin Imagination Library locally here in Miami County! Through the Dolly Partin Imagination Library, children from birth to Kindergarten, can get a book delivered every month to their home at no cost.

And while Dolly is a huge help, she picks out the stories and she works with the publishers, there is still a local cost to the program. Your donations through our “Buy Me A Coffee Page” will help get these youngsters on the right track to a life-long love of reading!

Thanks to John And Kim, Rachelle. Loraine and a special anonymous donor, for your recent donations to this effort. So far this month — 70 books have been purchased! Thank you!