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Posts by author

Ben Speggen

47 posts
Ben Speggen serves as the Editorial Director at Our Towns Civic Foundation, where he helps capture and tell the stories of the people and places driving community renewal throughout the country.
Some of the Arras Foundation staff (from left to right: Elizabeth Howe, Brian Canty, Hannah Saeger Karnei, Emma DeVenny, Susan DeVenny, and Savannah Crosby) pose in front of a mural on historic Main Street in downtown Lancaster, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of the Arras Foundation.
View Post
  • Local Institutions

Driving Regional Transformation through Inclusion

  • Ben Speggen
  • April 6, 2023
The Arras Foundation in Lancaster, South Carolina, is using resident input and data to empower whole-of-region progress.
Three kayakers paddle down a river.
View Post
  • Parks & Recreation

Great Falls Reimagines Its Identity through Nature-Based Tourism

  • Ben Speggen
  • March 30, 2023
With community partnerships and resident input, the small South Carolina town is writing its next chapter.
Andrew McKeever, Jim Fallows, Deb Fallows on Greater Northshire Access Television's ‘The News Project: In Studio’.
View Post
  • Media

Discussing the ‘Our Towns’ Journey on The News Project

  • Ben Speggen
  • March 29, 2023
Deb and Jim Fallows explore the ongoing story of Our Towns with Andrew McKeever on Greater Northshire Access Television's ‘The News Project: In Studio’.
Seven people sitting on stage for a panel discussion.
View Post
  • Civic Life

‘Change is in the Air – in Redlands!’

  • Ben Speggen
  • March 15, 2023
A panel of residents, business owners, and community stakeholders discuss the southern California city then, and now.
Zoom panel of four people, two men at the top, two women at the bottom.
View Post
  • Local Institutions

How a Foundation Transforms the Well-Being of Residents

  • Ben Speggen
  • March 1, 2023
Our Towns' Ben Speggen talks with the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation team to discuss how the Foundation is empowering community development, has transformed a former grocery store into an innovative hub for nonprofits, and more.
Community members holding rakes and shovels pose in front of Fort Lawn, South Carolina town sign.
View Post
  • Local Institutions

How a Community Center Helps a Town Rise Again

  • Ben Speggen
  • February 24, 2023
Residents of Fort Lawn, South Carolina used a community development model to identify 51 actionable goals to improve their town. Today, they’re checking off the list, one by one.
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Environment & Sustainability

Inside Our Towns: Erin Sanborn

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • February 21, 2023
Erin Sanborn discusses service and sustainability and the role the University of Redlands plays in the community and beyond with Evan Sanford in this episode of the Inside Our Towns podcast.
View Post
  • Education

‘Uniting Americans through Service: How California is Leading’

  • Ben Speggen
  • January 19, 2023
California's Chief Service Officer discusses the California Volunteers' initiatives -- the impact CalVols is having in the state, and how it serves as a model nationwide at Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit event at the University of Redlands.
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Inside Our Towns: John Kropf

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • January 17, 2023
John Kropf discusses his latest book, 'Color Capital of the World: Growing Up with the Legacy of a Crayon Company', which explores Sandusky, Ohio's innovative industrial heritage and his family's role in it.
“How America’s Towns are Writing the Future of the Country,” Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit 2022 event featuring (from left) Heidi and Isaac Tucker, Alice Trowbridge, Jason Neises, Ben Speggen, and James Fallows. Photo by Pierre Bellicini, courtesy of JES.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

‘How America’s Towns are Writing the Future of the Country’

  • Ben Speggen
  • January 5, 2023
Residents, coaches, reporters discuss local-level community revitalization initiative at Jefferson Educational Society Global Summit event.
View Post
  • Civic Life

A Year in Renew, A Year-in-Review: The Stories from 2022 of American Renewal

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 16, 2022
The Our Towns team looks back at the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide.
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  • Civic Life

2022: A Year in Renew, Continued!

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 15, 2022
A continued look back at the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide. 
View Post
  • Civic Life

2022: A Year in Renew

  • Ben Speggen
  • December 14, 2022
A look back at some of the stories of local-level ideas that are driving and inspiring renewal nationwide. 
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Inside Our Towns: Josh Fryday, California’s Chief Service Officer

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • December 7, 2022
National division might grab headlines, but the story of uniting citizens through service in California is growing.
Logo for "Inside Our Towns" with black background.
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

Inside Our Towns: Scott and Tiffany Whaley

  • Ben Speggen and Evan Sanford
  • November 21, 2022
Feeding, sustaining, and building community in Kershaw, South Carolina through KARE.
Ezekiel Jones, Operational Coordinator, coaxes the animals out to pasture in the morning. GrowingChange's donkey, Miss Easter, was born on Easter Sunday five years ago.
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  • Environment & Sustainability

Unlocking Potential

  • Ben Speggen
  • November 16, 2022
At-risk youth in North Carolina hold the keys to flipping a decommissioned prison into a sustainable farm and community asset.

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