MOUNT VERNON — What many Mount Vernon residents have known for years is now official: Mount Vernon is one of Ohio’s best places to live.
On Friday, Luke Hammon Jr., publisher of Ohio Magazine, presented Mayor Richard Mavis the 2017-2018 Best Hometown Award.
“Our mission is to celebrate the beauty, the life of people in the Buckeye state,” Hammon told the group of residents and city officials gathered at the Memorial Theater to celebrate the honor. “The strength of Ohio lies in Ohio’s small villages and towns. We told the world, at least a small part of it, what you already know. Mount Vernon is a great place to live.”
Hammon cited the diversity of business, the beauty of the homes, the city’s natural beauty, and the warmth, friendliness and sense of pride of Mount Vernon residents as a few of the reasons why the magazine chose the city as a best hometown.
In accepting the award, Mavis said that there’s a lot to be said for the city’s buildings, businesses and other attributes, but it’s really the people who make the city what it is. He said that in recognizing the city, Ohio Magazine is recognizing the people.
“I’m a proud mayor of a proud city,” he said. “Mount Vernon has long been thought of as a good place to live, and Ohio Magazine recognizes that.”
To illustrate the character of the city, Mavis related a story about the late Helen Zelkowitz. Years ago, when Ohio Magazine was researching nominees for its livability award, Zelkowitz invited a researcher to be a guest on Coffee Cup, her daily radio show, and explain how one went about choosing the most livable town.
Arriving at the station, Zelkowitz did a poor job of parallel parking the Cadillac she was driving. She got out of the car, handed her keys to a stranger standing on the sidewalk, and asked him to re-park the car properly. He did so. It turned out that the stranger was the researcher.
Mount Vernon ultimately won the award because, as the researcher explained, “Any town where you can hand your keys to a stranger and not worry about getting them back must be the most livable city.”
“That’s why Mount Vernon is the best hometown to live,” said Mavis.
Karen Wright, president and CEO of Ariel Corp., reflected on how the downtown revitalization process began. Crediting Dan Martin of Mount Vernon Nazarene University and local businessman Mark Ramser for their support, Wright listed many projects that have changed the downtown streetscape.
“It’s been a progression from one project to another. We’ve really focused on the quality of life here in Mount Vernon,” she said, citing projects such as sidewalks, parks and revitalizing old buildings. “Today, we still have a few more projects to finish. … Really, the whole idea is to bring enough population to the downtown area so that it requires people and stores for people, and I think we are really getting close. It’s an honor for me to have Mount Vernon a place to make this happen.”
Jeff Harris, president of the Area Development Foundation, pointed out that in the magazine article about Mount Vernon, the writer noted that it was tough to pin down the quality that made the city a winner. “I think it’s the people,” he said.
Referencing a time when he saw Mavis checking to make sure the trash cans along South Main street weren’t too full as the mayor returned to his office, Harris said, “It’s the little things that matter. It’s the people that are the constituent parts of that elusive quality.”
Looking to the future, Harris painted a picture of what could become realities in the next five to 10 years as the downtown planning process unfolds: downtown residential units, storefronts opening onto a redone Blackberry Alley and a second industrial park in a revamped Siemens lot, to name a few. Referring to the creativity and support of city officials, businesses and residents, Harris said, “I’ve often said we punch above our weight. I think it’s time to let everyone know.”
A video depicting the story of a hometown reinvented made its debut at the presentation. Created by Mount Vernon native Daniel Woods, the video points out the philosophy of city residents: “We aren’t waiting for culture to tell us what’s next; we’re creating it. We’re out of survival mode and into thrive mode.”
