By ANDY COOK
Westfield Mayor
Every city needs a heart. In Westfield, we are building our physical heart – the Grand Junction Plaza – as we speak.
It is exciting! This one-of-a-kind outdoor space will be a gathering place for residents and visitors in our downtown. We will host concerts, festivals and many other events throughout the year. A group of volunteers, in partnership with the city, spent more than a decade dreaming up what this place could and will be. I am excited to see it open later this year.
I would be remiss to think the “heart of our city” is a physical location. In city governments, we work hard to create opportunities for people to gather for community events. The Plaza will help Westfield do that on a whole new level.
I also think we play a role in developing the culture of our communities. I have heard it said that this is not “government’s” role. I guess I don’t agree with that. Hamilton County is among the top areas in the country for families. There are many reasons. One is the events and opportunities for engagement that we all offer. One way we work on engagement is through our Westfield Welcome program. Angie Frazier and Bailey Spitznagle run this one-of-a-kind program. They are dedicated to building up an army of volunteers, give hospitality trainings and welcome new residents. It’s all about making our city a welcoming place for all!
This is an important part of building a strong community. I know, as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great desire for people to engage with one another again. We are working on staging our city events once again with Westfield Rocks the 4th coming back bigger and better than ever this July 4th and Colts Training Camp coming later this summer. Our community could not be more excited to celebrate! We can’t do it without our volunteers who put in more than 3,300 hours of service in 2019 – that’s at Training Camp alone.
We do the “basics” of government really well in Westfield – and across Hamilton County for that matter. We are a safe city, with great infrastructure, wonderful amenities and a low tax rate. Westfield was recently named one of the Best Small Cities in America by WalletHub for a variety of reasons, including quality of life. Our events and volunteer programs add to the quality of life that makes our city one of the best in the country!
My challenge today is for you to commit to volunteerism. Whether it is a non-profit or for our Westfield Welcome program, get involved. Angie and Bailey sure would like to hear from you and get you plugged in. You can email Bailey at bspitznagle@westfield.in.gov.