Announcing Vibrant Stillwater

Citizen-Led Coalition Looks to Drive Growth and Spark Civic Engagement

Stillwater, OK (August 2021)—Inspired by the efforts of Love STW and a presentation by community development advocate Quint Studer, citizens, along with local businesses and civic leaders, have gotten together to form a community coalition to build a more vibrant Stillwater. So far, members of the coalition include representation from citizen advocates, local business owners, Stillwater Public Schools, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Medical Center, and the City of Stillwater.

Made up of citizens and leaders, Vibrant Stillwater will work to identify a citizen-inspired vision, get the community more involved in the process, and make intentional decisions about development. Its long-term goal is to become a community that attracts and retains talent, which in turn attracts and retains business and industry that drives economic growth.

“COVID gave us time to really think about what we want for our city. We have a lot of great things going on already, and we’re eager to build on that momentum and not let barriers keep us from progressing. The idea behind this coalition is to get everyone aligned and rowing in the same direction to make sure our Stillwater can be the community we want it to be,” shared Alan Lovelace, a member of the Vibrant Stillwater steering committee. 

Vibrant Stillwater will work with Quint Studer and his community coaching team at Vibrant Community Partners to prioritize steps like conducting a Quality of Life Survey, doing market research on economic development and placemaking (creating quality places where people want to live, work, and play), expanding small business training programs, raising civic IQ, and figuring out the best programming to create foot traffic downtown.

“There’s so much opportunity for Stillwater,” says Studer, author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America (Be the Bulb Publishing, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-9981311-1-5, $24.95). “Small towns and medium-sized cities are really hot right now. There’s a lot of reverse migration. As more and more people are getting priced out of bigger cities, smaller places that have a good cost of living and allow for a great work-life balance are set to thrive. 

“That was true before 2020, but it’s especially true now that remote work is mainstream,” he adds. “Communities like Stillwater, that get the value of revitalization, are in the sweet spot.” 

Lovelace says the most powerful impetus for change is a grassroots effort, with community members stepping forward to take ownership in the well-being of Stillwater. That’s why he urges all citizens to think about what they might do to get involved.

“We have a diverse group of highly engaged community members working to move Stillwater forward. It’s an exciting time to be a part of creating the foundation for the future of our community,” said Lovelace.

To learn more about Vibrant Stillwater, visit www.vibrantstillwater.com and discover ways you can get involved, be engaged in its efforts, and sign up for regular updates. Coalition leaders also urge interested citizens to read Quint Studer’s Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America to get a feel for the revitalization process and see what’s possible for Stillwater.

For more information, please contact Alan Lovelace at alovelace@stillwater-medical.org or 405.714.3959

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