Former Falmouth council member wants to Raise the Roof in Pendleton County

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    Three years ago, Alex Carson left his home in the city and his place on Falmouth City Council in order to better serve in his role at the American Heart Association. While he left the place that is most near-and-dear to his heart, he knew something even as he moved into his house in Ft. Mitchell, a place that was closer to work.
    “I knew I would be returning [to the county].”
    Life did not take long to prove him correct as he, his wife, Brandi, and their daughter all returned to the county within a little over two years. He now works remotely, and that allowed them to move back to the county to move into Brandi’s dad’s home after his passing.
    Even while he was gone, Carson was considering what needed to be done in the community because, as he says, “I’ve always had a strong desire to impact community, and it is glaring that the city and community need fundraising in order to revitalize the area and make it what it could be.”
    With that in mind, Carson decided to harness his passions of fundraising and desire for impact.
    The outcome of his imagination and his team’s input is called “Raise the Roof,” and he wants community input in the idea of ideas, services, and funds.
    The mission of Raise the Roof is “raising hopes, funding dreams to take Falmouth onward and upward through strategic collaboration, expertise, passion, and community.” The team is under the non-profit umbrella of the PC Tourism, and their hope is to bring together the community interest, ideas, expertise, and funding in order to bring about change that is needed first in Falmouth’s historic district, because it  most visible, and then throughout the county.
    The team consists of architect Victoria Wanstrath, planner Brett Price, educator Michelle Lustenberg, fundraiser Alex Carson, and written storyteller Carolyn Reid. Leadership still needs an event planner, a building owner, a contractor, and historian, and, as Carson creatively puts it, Youth.
    While Carson’s expertise is raising funds, he also knows the community needs vision--community vision. That is what he wants to see in leadership.
    And he wants to be clear about the roles. “We want to have a visual storyteller as well as a written storyteller. A current owner can give perspective of what is here and what is needed to build small business in town. An event planner would know how to throw a good party. The contractor is one who can give ideas about the cost of what it would take to bring a vision into being. We want a historian to make sure the past is remembered and how it ties to history. And youth would bring fresh, new ideas to the group.”
    All of this input he hopes will help the community to preserve history, to enrich the arts and the culture, to expand recreation, to ignite small business, and to enhance first impressions of the community.
    One of his favorite quotes comes from Jane Jacobs. “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
    With that in mind, he also hopes to have the support of families and individuals in the endeavor to raise funds. The goal is to sponsor a three-year campaign that will raise $50,000 to $100,000. He plans to do this by issuing a family challenge where each family raises a minimum of $1,000 annually. He has several resources to help families who sign on accomplish this goal and hopefully more.    
    “The vision is to ultimately have funding of $75,000 annually that can be put to use for dreams and visions of community members and small business who have ideas to make the town more attractive to tourists and to those who live here alike.
    His biggest concern about the fact that the goals will take time to achieve. “We have a passion that will take time. Results may not happen immediately.” With that in mind, he says he needs families who sign on to have a long-term vision.
    Carson states that the expertise, ideas, and such will produce what he hopes will be a ton of little wins because asking for one big win immediately, or ever, is probably not plausible.
    “Small towns don’t survive on large business,” Carson says. “We need more small investments. The quilt shop is a great example of what we need in this town.”
    And as for the frustrations we all feel as we remember what the city and the county are like, Carson refers back to his favorite quote. “We have to stop pointing fingers and take power for what the city can be. If we want to change the community, we have the power, and we have to decide to use it.”
    For more information, contact Carson at Alexandermcarson@gmail.com.
    Let’s Raise the Roof!