Hoodies and flip flops
Leaves in raucous colors
Blue heron on the fishing dock
Bonfires and smores
Gracious gray skies melting into the lake
Wild turkey in front yards
Skittish deer darting into the tree line
Boats beginning to be pulled out of the water and put up for winter storage
Open windows on cool nights
Brilliant sunshine
Pumpkin patches
Corn mazes
Hay rack rides
Representing both Clinton, Iowa and Fulton, Illinois in my tourism role, bringing both communities together for the betterment of each
Developing multiple collaborations with the Clinton Herald including Visitor Guide and weekly articles
RAGBRAI, especially after less than 7 months on the job
Efforts with Iowa Scenic Byways and the Mississippi River Parkway Commission to represent the Great River Road
Designing ads for the first time… lots and lots of ads
Developing 4 digital passports for the community and guests to use
Deep collaborations with the Showboat Theatre to advertise in new and unique ways
Being part of the Frahm art installs/selfie stations
Embrace the Winter
Ultra Mega Capture The Flag In Heritage Canyon
Creating a focused and strategic advertising plan
Helping develop the Bound For the Kingdom Christian Music Festival
Elevating existing events that deserve lots of recognition, like Christmas in the Canyon, the LBPA Art & Wine Walk, and the Riverview Bacon & Brew Fest
Making contacts with tourism professionals across two states
Getting lots of news attention from QCA stations
Helping fund both The Grove and Wildness, two of the earliest pieces of the emerging arts culture in Clinton thanks to Gabi Torres
Parachuting elves
So many more things than I can list. Thank you all. I have loved my time here and will remember it with fondness. <3
God Bless The USA
She’s A Grand Old Flag
Yanky Doodle Dandy
Stars & Stripes Forever
This Land is Your Land
The Star Spangled Banner
America The Beautiful
Death to Deconstruction
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Post Birthday World
The Westing Game
Open Heart, Open Home
Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better
Me, Myself & Bob: A True Story About God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables
Seriously… I’m Kidding
Love You Forever
On The Day You Were Born
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Tom’s Midnight Garden
Glass Castle
Giraffes? Giraffes!
Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage
Turn the page
Take the next step
Follow the path
Make a leap of faith
Sail, don’t drift
Move into your future
Embrace the change
Get dressed for the new season
Launch
Stay inside
Get in the pool
Drive around in your air conditioned car and catch Pokémon
Eat ice cream
Complain about how hot it is
Be that really annoying girl that says “I like it this way!”
Bask in the sunshine on your skin
Procrastinate on outdoor chores
Sleep with your window cracked open anyway
Take pictures of the temperature on your car since it doesn’t get this hot in the Midwest very often
Except… climate change
Discuss climate change
Plan a beach vacation to further the sunshine experience
Swimming at Grand Cayman
Sunshine
Tan lines
Wide brimmed hats
Green grass
The sound of a lawn mower
Oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds
The smell of salt water
Sand on the floor mats
Children laughing
Scooters and bicycles
Hide and Seek
Campfires
S’mores
Sleeping in a tent with the rainfly open to the stars
Road trips
Naps
Hot air
Cool nights
Pine forests
Music playing from someone’s house
Trailers with boats
Long days
Sunsets
Hired Parachuting Elves
Been part of a German documentary
Hosted 20,000 people in my town for one day
Spoken at City Council meetings
Led bus tours for hundreds of tourists
Received private tour of authentic Dutch windmill
Received private tour of St. Boniface Catholic Center
Received private tour of Clinton Historical Society Museum
Lived in a historical mansion
Learned how influencer marketing works
Been able to write multiple newspaper articles
Gone on ride-alongs with the Sherriff
Sat in on strategic planning sessions with the city
Been appointed by the Iowa governor to a national commission
Saw the Peabody ducks march in
Toured the Field of Dreams
Greeted people from stage at a music festival
Secured a VIP box for another music festival
The giant windows
The original brick walls
The fireplace
Open space big enough for my giant calendar
The plants
The sunshine
The large window sills that serve as shelves
The closet that is a safe
The ability to see outside
Not just one window but three
Seeing everyone who walks by
The extra storage closet
The thermostat
Did I mention the windows?
He is deeply empathetic and genuinely cares about people
He’s a super involved father
He understands science and math and the world on a conceptual level
He isn’t afraid to speak up for someone who needs it
He accepts everyone exactly as they are
He is married to his highschool sweetheart
He always says sweet things about her when she isn’t around
He is adventerous
There isn’t a food he won’t try
While visiting somewhere new, he refuses to eat at any restaurant he could go to at home
He’s an excellent cook
He reads to his daughters
He loves his grandparents and communicates with them regularly
He’s calm under pressure
He never went through a “my parents embarrass me” phase
On a group outing at the age of 10, he saved his sack lunch to give to the homeless man we’d passed on the way there
He’s always been my video game buddy
He is super creative
His skills as a D&D DM rival those of any fiction novelist
He is musical
He has a freaky good ear for sounds and tones and can hear things nobody else can hear
For example, if he hears loose change drop on the ground, he can tell you exactly how much it is
He can fix things
His sense of humor cracks me up
He is kind
He has the ability to look beyond the surface level of any given situation
He has a broad perspective of life in general
He loves his family with everything in him
He memorizes random and ridiculous things
He is the best kid ever (except for Jesus)
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