Dear Minot:
This past week, it was an amazing sight to see a small army of volunteers spread out across our community with one purpose in mind: to help clean up Minot.
For at least the past 20 years, the Minot Area Chamber EDC has organized a two-day event in early May with a singular goal of cleaning up our community. And the response every year has been great from volunteers and sponsors. This year’s event was sponsored by Hess and Creedence Energy Services.
The volunteers know what they’re getting themselves into on the cleanup days. This isn’t some photo op, with business leaders and politicians in suits and dress clothes posing for the camera and then going back to work.
No, this is a good, old-fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves and get-to-work type of cleaning event. Volunteers know they have to dress for the work they’re doing those days. The Chamber EDC provides garbage bags, gloves, and other necessities for the volunteers.
The volunteers provide the muscle – and this year that muscle came in the form of more than 250 volunteers.
That means volunteers walking ditches and picking up trash. That means volunteers battling North Dakota winds to gather litter. That means volunteers getting dirty, spending the day enduring the elements, cleaning up after others. That means teams of volunteers, working alongside each other for the common good of their city.
It’s a practice that’s been happening for a long time in Minot, and it’s something that we should all be proud that still exists. No, not the fact that there’s random garbage around the city. But the idea that business owners, employees, residents, and concerned citizens in general continue to take time away from their jobs and their families to spend hours picking up garbage will always instill a sense of pride in me and many others.
No one should be surprised that such an event still takes place in Minot. I’m certainly not, given Minot’s history of volunteerism and civic pride. We’ve always been a city full of residents who take great pride in our community. It’s evident every day, in part because of events like the spring clean up days hosted by the Minot Area Chamber EDC.
This event is simply another reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together for a goal that is bigger than we are individually. It’s a reminder that despite any perceived differences – political, social, or otherwise – there are always residents willing to step up for the betterment of their community.
Thank you to everyone involved in making this year’s Clean Up event a success. These events don’t simply happen without countless hours of work behind the scenes ensuring that supplies are available and that volunteers are organized. To the volunteers, thank you for making Minot a better place to live.
The impact of these two days of community service is immediately evident every year the event takes place. Our city instantly looks better, and the impact of the volunteers from last week is certainly noticeable. But beyond the visible changes brought on by this event, there are also unseen things taking place in our community.
You can’t necessarily see the positive attitude and community spirit of Minot, but we know it’s there. These sort of events prove it – every day, every month, every year. It’s another reason that I’m proud to live in Minot, and to be even prouder that I’m fortunate to be your mayor.
You can find more about what’s happening at the City of Minot at minotnd.org, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. We’d also encourage you to sign up for our monthly electronic newsletter on our website.