Reimagining Community: Innovation, Inspiration, and Connection at Your Town Alabama
McKenzie Civic Fellow Chauntina Whittle represented the DMC at this year's Your Town Alabama. This annual workshop provides community leaders with critical tools for organizing, recruiting, and strategically developing community and economic development projects while retaining the things that make a small or rural town special.
Image Credits to Your Town Alabama
The David Mathews Center had a wonderful time yet again attending the annual Your Town Alabama workshop. Now in its 26th year of highly participatory workshops, Your Town Alabama continues to expand the idea of innovation within community vitalization. Participants this year started to think outside the box and evolved with a changing world, infusing digital tools and forward-thinking approaches into the timeless mission of community revitalization. What unfolded was more than a workshop or a series of meetings. It was a transformative gathering that blended the power of people with the possibilities of place and belonging.
Your Town Alabama’s approach to participatory workshops felt different. Yes, there were presentations, group projects, and breakout sessions, but underneath it all was a current of something deeper. This type of workshop made it feel like we weren’t just brainstorming about community change but placing ourselves into what sustains community. Participants were given tools and platforms to visualize their ideas, collaborate across distances, and begin shaping their plans in real-time. Innovation didn’t just stay in the room, it traveled, evolved, and took root across the different groups.
The workshop didn’t just teach participants how to improve infrastructure or rethink economic development. It took a holistic approach that recognized the full spectrum of community life. From architecture and design to culture, daily living, entertainment, and history, each component was given the respect it deserved. The program highlighted that real revitalization doesn’t just happen with ideas and building materials. It happens when people are seen, heard, and invested in by others.
Perhaps the most impactful shift in mindset came from a core principle at the heart of Your Town Alabama: Focus on assets, not just deficits. Instead of seeing communities as broken or lacking, attendees were encouraged to recognize the unique strengths already present, such as overlooked landmarks and historical districts, underutilized spaces, or the people currently there or people passing through. This asset-based approach reframes the way we think about challenge and change. It doesn’t ignore the obstacles, but it emphasizes possibility.
Group facilitators and Your Town Alabama organizers emphasized that when we start with what we have, rather than what we’re missing, we open doors to sustainable, community-driven solutions. We stop trying to “fix” places and instead work to elevate them, drawing on the energy, identity, and history that already exist. That’s how long-term transformation begins, not with a blank slate, but with a renewed vision for what’s possible.
Another powerful takeaway from the experience was the sheer volume of unexpected connections made. Attendees who arrived as strangers quickly found common ground. As groups shared their stories of past successes, setbacks, and the winding paths that led them to this moment there was an unspoken understanding that growth is not linear. It’s collaborative. The same can be said about community. Every story brought with it a new insight, and with each conversation, the collective inspiration in the room grew. Ideas that once seemed like “someday” visions started to feel like tomorrow’s plans.
Among the 60 participants, the richness of the group dynamic was perhaps most evident between young professionals and seasoned experts. The enthusiasm of the new generation met the wisdom of experience, creating a cycle of knowledge that felt generous and empowering. Young professionals were able to soak up insights like sponges and bring them home to their own communities. Meanwhile, veterans in the field shared their lessons with humility and passion, eager to see the torch passed on with fresh energy and perspective.
By the end of the experience, the change was palpable. What began as a room full of strangers evolved into a buzzing, unified community that transcended job titles, city limits, and different age groups. The bonds formed with people from every corner of Alabama and every walk of life were purposeful. Participants reexamined what community really means. What does it look like? What does it feel like? And how can we create communities that are not only inclusive but intentionally welcoming for those who choose to be part of them?
Your Town Alabama reminded everyone in attendance that community building is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It’s messy, nonlinear, and beautifully complex. But when people come together with open minds, varied experiences/perspectives, and a shared commitment to growth something amazing happens.
The ideas planted during those few days may just be seeds now. But with the connections forged, the stories shared, and the inspiration sparked, those seeds are already finding fertile ground.
Image Credits to Your Town Alabama