My Town, My Community

A few weeks ago Trevor and I got the distinct pleasure to tag along with Cory Hepola and Micah & Jenna Kvidt of Kvidt Creative as they filmed for the Corridor episode of the My Town docu-series.

It was fun to see the region from Cory & the Kvidts’ fresh perspective. I learned a lot about what it takes to record a high-quality documentary-style video, and I know there’s a lot more writing, editing, and production to come! They even trusted me enough to let me be a “sound engineer” for a couple of hours.

Most of all, it was wonderful to hear the stories of those interviewed for the episode. Whether they grew up here or moved here, each one had specific things that brought and kept them in the Corridor Region. Collaboration, peace, support, service, and quality of life were all things we heard through the interviews. But one that stood out to me across the board was COMMUNITY.

It’s the people that make the place. It’s the passion our community members have for their towns, businesses, friends and family that shines through. Whether it is the overwhelming community support for a small business and entrepreneurial family, passion of employees at a local manufacturer, or serenity and security of being with friends and family in a place you all love, the Iowa Lakes Corridor Region has a strong backbone of genuine, caring, passionate people that make up these amazing communities across Northwest Iowa.

I am excited to see how Cory knits the story together for the My Town episode to showcase our region. There are so many amazing soundbites and quotes that had Trevor and me excited and thinking “Yes! That’s perfect!” And though I have no idea how they are going to fit in all of the amazing things we heard and saw in the episode timeframe, one thing is certain: Our passionate people are who make the welcoming, diverse, supportive communities of this region strong and unique.