A New Year's Resolution from the Cass County Communication Network

In October 2010, with the help of a few rolls of tape and a lot of neon flyers, something nice started happening in Cass County.

It started with an idea that blossomed on the white board in the Cass County Communication Network's conference room, and in the weeks leading up to Halloween, it just kept getting bigger. It all stemmed from the fact that our fans make it so enjoyable to do what we do, because they're always so positive. We wanted to do something that would encourage the whole community to look on the bright side and talk about the good things that are happening here.

Half sheets of brightly colored paper, emblazoned with the words “Say Something Nice” appeared on the doors of local businesses overnight. The next day, we waited for someone to mention it on Facebook. When they did, we made more copies and went out again.

Some people wondered what they'd said or done to make someone ask them to “Say Something Nice,” so we rolled out the next phase — handwritten notes. People kept those on their doors for a really long time. We smiled every time we walked into a business and saw one.

People started calling us the “Say Something Nice elves.”

The idea has grown based on the way the community reacted.

Steve Schwering asked for more signs — on October 22, we covered his windows with “Say Something Nice” and “Do Something Nice” signs based on a request we saw on Facebook.

Winter and blizzards put us on hold for a little bit. We thought we might reveal it at the fair last summer, but the timing just didn't seem right.

A completely unrelated Youtube video by an improv group in New York popped up, encouraging people to “Say something Nice.” When I attended the Cass County Resource Network's Summit in September, I was stunned. At the front of the room was a podium labeled “Say Something Nice.” There was a megaphone, and a few people walked up and said nice things about others who were there. Joyce Mayhill encouraged everyone — and “whoever started it” — to keep the campaign going. I thought for sure that the rapid-fire texts I was sending to Phill, Melissa and Tony would blow my cover.

That's when I started thinking about how and when to reveal our identity.

We strongly believe that as residents, each of us can promote positive change in our community through our actions. We, as Cass County Communication Network, want people to attend local events, shop at local businesses and share the great things that are happening in our community with others.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a lot of buzz over a Facebook page called “Logansport-Sugar And-Spice.” For a few minutes, I was kind of upset that we'd spent our nights delivering hand-written notes and a Facebook page was getting all the buzz, but then I realized that we'd achieved exactly what we wanted when we started planning — people are sharing the great things that are happening in our community.

As we head into 2012, we'd like to invite the whole community to embrace the sentiment of “Say Something Nice” and “Do Something Nice.” Check out our Facebook page where we'll be posting ways you can get involved.

We can't wait to look back a year from now and reflect on what a nice place Cass County is!

Say Something Nice!

Watch our video.