Author: Lara Kretler (5 Articles)
Lara Kretler is Associate Vice President and social media lead at Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations. She brings more than 15 years of high-impact public relations and online community building experience to the agency. She blogs about PR and social media at LaraKretler.com. She is a frequent presenter about social media at regional conferences and meetings and is glad to connect with you via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or her blog.
A quiet national drama has been taking place on Facebook over the past several weeks. It all started when CNN, Fortune and Money magazine proclaimed their annual Best Places to Live - the 2009 list of America’s 100 best small towns. The media powerhouses found that even in our current economic times, there are still small towns with strong local economies, great schools, affordable homes, low crime and much more.
Why should this matter to you? Because Westerville, OH is not only on the list, but scored as the 15th best place to live in the country. Westerville was the Ohio town ranked highest among the 2009 Best Places to Live, with only five other Ohio towns even making the list (four in the Cleveland area and one in the Dayton area). Whether or not you live in Westerville, it’s a matter of Buckeye pride to appreciate and acknowledge that a central Ohio town is so highly regarded and given such great accolades.
Even cooler than making the 15th spot on the Best Places to Live list is that this year, for the first time, the contest added a social media component. This meant that residents could vote for their town by becoming a fan on Facebook, thereby showing support and demonstrating a connected and engaged community. Being a Westerville resident, I of course became a fan and encouraged many of my Facebook friends to do the same. And you know what?
Westerville came out #1 in the Facebook Fan Favorites component of the 2009 Best Places to Live in America!
I’m proud to live in a town that made #15 on the national list for all the right reasons – quality of life, cost of living, and more. But I’m also proud to be part of such a thriving, engaged social media community. None of those other towns stood a chance next to central Ohio.
Thanks for making this such a great place to live, work – and yes, get social. Central Ohio rocks!
