Michigan Municipal League: The Review Magazine Jan-Feb 2023 Edition

CASSOPOLIS pop. 1,684

VILLAGE OF CASSOPOLIS: SMALL, RURAL, AND EXCEPTIONAL By Morgan Schwanky

A tiki hut stood in a hallway amongst a series of tables, an inflatable flamingo pool to the side. People donning bright pink t-shirts and leis greeted passers-by. Drinks, snacks, leis, stickers, and friendly faces were found for anyone who stopped by. This was the scene at the 2022 Michigan Municipal League Convention where the Village of Cassopolis competed against three other communities for the 2022 Community Excellence Award (CEA). Cassopolis, with its beach-inspired theme, would go on to win the CEA—the highest community honor bestowed by the League and selected through a vote of Convention attendees. The project, Imagine Cass Project Village of Cassopolis: Small, Rural, and Exceptional, was described as “monumental and courageous,” and aimed to create a new identity for Cassopolis. Following the announcement of their win, Village Manager Emilie LaGrow addressed Convention attendees, giving many thanks. She noted that knowing they inspired others was such a big win, along with winning the award. At the Convention, four finalists had the opportunity to interact with attendees, who cast votes for the winner.

The bright pink clad Cassopolis cohort proudly discussed their project and encouraged attendees to scan the QR code on their t-shirts. A partnership with a small, local business helped make it happen. “As is typical with a small town, we had a guy who was starting up a t-shirt business. I was like ‘hey why don’t you make t-shirts for us?’ and then ‘why don’t we put QR codes on them?’ that listed some of the big projects we want to focus on—our talking points…By using a guy in town that was a startup, he turned it around for us at cost, in about a week,” LaGrow said. Cassopolis is a small, rural village in southwest Michigan with a population of 1,684. Despite this small size, their actions were big and impactful. The first part of the project was asking the residents in the small but mighty community to ‘Imagine’ Cass. Then, they asked them to believe in ‘The Vision’ they created together.

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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023

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THE REVIEW