Your Town Alabama - Designing Its Future

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Your Town Alabama - Designing Its Future

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The Your Town Alabama workshop is a first step in meeting these needs.

Whether the threat is sudden growth or stagnation, planning and design decisions can often make the difference between survival and decay, between healthy prosperity and decline.

10/20/2026

Snapshots from Porch Time: Auburn! The evening was marked by wonderful views and even better company as we fellowshiped with community and economic development leaders from across the state.

Special thank you to our sponsors, Central Alabama Electric Cooperative and Government & Economic Development Institute - GEDI at Auburn University! Their support helps connect and strengthen Alabama's communities.

10/19/2026

Does your arts facility need some TLC? Check out this grant opportunity from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Creative Places Arts Facilities grants support:
- Equipment upgrades (up to $40,000)
- Architectural drawings (up to $75,000)
- Renovations or new construction (up to $100,000)

Review guidelines to make sure your project is a good fit: bit.ly/creative-places-2027-2028.

10/15/2026

Our Program Director Erin Hackenmueller enjoyed speaking about Your Town Alabama and asset based community development at the Alabama Association of RC&D Councils conference! YTA also asked attendees to tell us their favorite asset in THEIR town — we love hearing about what makes communities across Alabama special!

10/14/2026

The 2026 Your Town Alabama Alumni Workshop was a success thanks to these smiling faces (plus a couple more not pictured). Thank you so much to our speakers, session facilitators, and board members who made this program possible. Our hearts are full!

Pictured L-R
Front: James Hersick, Erin Hackenmueller, Laurel Webster, Chauntina Whittle, Lea Ann Macknally, Hollie Cost, Jim Byard
Back: Robert Finkel, Scotty Kirkland, Matt Leavell
Not pictured but equally as important: Ben Wieseman, Kellie Johnston, Jason Fondren, Mary Pollard, Taylor Stewart, Mike Putman

10/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our inaugural alumni workshop. You showed up with your full selves and brought that Your Town magic!

The organizing committee came in excited and with a healthy dose of nervousness. We wanted a workshop that felt like Your Town Alabama, not a stack of lectures. It needed to be interactive, engaging, and fun! We spent a lot of time crafting an agenda around the storytelling theme, but the energy and thoughtfulness came from the people in the room. One story from the workshop stands out.

An alum realized that he was trying to do too much by himself. An open space had an opportunity to become a Veterans Park, but the development process had stalled. He remembered how his workshop team had worked together to develop an idea, so he started talking with others about what they wanted. Before he knew it, things were moving, and the park held its ribbon-cutting on May 1, 2026. Y’all…this is an alum of the 2025 workshop!

That’s what makes YTA special…people who believe in their community and keep showing up for each other. We are a collective of people who believe in our communities and persistently work to improve them. You heard it in the shared stories and in the time spent on the porch getting to know each other. Everyone shared friendliness, warmth, and energy with patience, openness, and smiles. Alabamians are at their best when they work together to accomplish something aspirational, and this workshop proved it.

YTA has just finished our own strategic plan with a growth mindset focused on creating new ways to support your community and economic development efforts. We’ll roll out programs over the coming months that will provide more opportunities to engage with our YTA community. Please watch out for our newsletters with information about how we can work together to improve Alabama.

Thank you to the volunteers, board members, and staff who made this event happen. Thank you to the alumni who made the trip back to camp. Thanks to all of you who continue to improve Alabama. I hope to see you at a future event so I can hear your story!

Onward,
Matt Leavell
Board Chair, Your Town Alabama

10/02/2026

As our nation marks 250 years, join Alabama civic leaders for a daylong discussion of our state’s past, present, and future. This year’s David Mathews Center for Civic Life Civic Institute is co-sponsored by the National Issues Forums Institute, which recently launched “What’s Next, America?” a nationwide community-focused conversation series about America's next 250 years.

The Institute is next Friday, October 9, so be sure to snag your tickets soon: www.mathewscenter.org/-civic-institute

09/26/2026

This story is presented by Sew Gee's Bend Heritage Builders. On October 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the annual Airing of the Quilts Festival will take place in the Gee’s Bend community of Boykin, Alabama. What began as a seasonal tradition to prepare for winter has evolved into an annual celebration...

09/23/2026

We're smiling this big because the Alumni Workshop is TOMORROW! We can't wait to welcome our alumni back to Camp McDowell! 😄🎉

09/15/2026

Looking for Tuesday evening plans? Connect with peers TONIGHT from 5-7 PM at Porch Time: Auburn!

Your Town Alabama believes that building relationships and getting to know your community is a key part of economic development. Our Porch Time events foster spaces where neighbors, partners, and friends can come together to enjoy an evening of fellowship. Meet us at the Graduate by Hilton in Auburn to connect with peers, share ideas, and build relationships that strengthen our communities.

September 15, 5-7 PM
Graduate by Hilton Auburn
202 West Magnolia Ave. Auburn, AL
RSVP: https://porch-time-auburn-2026.eventbrite.com/

Thank you to our sponsors, Central Alabama Electric Cooperative and Government & Economic Development Institute - GEDI at Auburn University! These organizations support Your Town Alabama’s work to connect and strengthen Alabama’s communities. We’re grateful for their partnership.

09/11/2026

Good news: you have a few extra days to register for the Alumni Workshop! We've extended the registration deadline to Wednesday, September 16.

The Alumni Workshop gives you a chance to sharpen the tools you learned the first time you came to camp. Together, we'll explore how storytelling and placemaking work hand in hand to build stronger, more resilient rural communities.

You'll leave with:
→ A clearer framework for identifying and telling a compelling community story
→ A deeper understanding of how design and planning decisions can respond to a community's real needs, assets, and identity
→ New ways to solve familiar problems
→ Practical tools for using storytelling and visual communication to engage neighbors, build support, and drive local placemaking efforts

Join us at Camp McDowell, Sept. 24-25, 2026.
Register: yourtownalabama.org/alumni

Address

Selma, AL
36701-36703

Website

http://www.yourtownalabama.org/

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