Marion Technical College is proud of being MarionMade! and will now take an active role in helping local people and organizations show their Marion pride. The MarionMade! community pride program is moving to MTC after several successful years at Marion Community Foundation.
“MarionMade! is a public pride movement that exclaims that the greater Marion area’s people stand together in support of our vibrant community,” said Dean Jacob, President and CEO of Marion Community Foundation. “Marion Technical College has been a supporter of this campaign from the start. They are a natural partner to lead this effort moving forward.”
From encouraging use of the MarionMade! logo on locally produced items, including a special swaddle for local newborns at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, to a steady stream of good local news across multiple social media channels, MarionMade! has made a splash as it highlights local people, places, products, and programs in Marion’s vibrant, thriving, growing community.
In three years’ time, MarionMade! went from the concept boards of Marion native Bryan Haviland at the communications firm FrazierHeiby to an award winning community pride initiative with nearly 300 stories about all-things Marion on the heavily trafficked website marionmade.org. MarionMade! has built a following of nearly 6,000 on Facebook, as well as a presence on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, and its own YouTube channel. MarionMade! was honored with a 2017 Prism Award from the Public Relations Society of America and an honorable mention in the Ohio Economic Development Association’s 2018 Excellence Awards.
According to Jacob, the MarionMade! program has always been intended as a multi-year campaign and now is an opportune time to re-energize the effort and expand it.
“Since initiating the MarionMade! program in February 2017, Marion Community Foundation has been able to spread the word of MarionMade! throughout the region. It was always our hope that the MarionMade! program will expand,” said Jacob. “MTC will offer greater capacity in terms of staff support and outreach than we can now provide. There is so much more that can be done to help reinvigorate and reinvent the greater Marion area.”
MarionMade! program manager Vicky Branson will relocate to an office in Marion Technical College and work with MTC leaders, local volunteers, and the existing MarionMade! Advisory Committee to determine future stories and activities for MarionMade! The new partnership has been approved by the boards of both Marion Technical College and Marion Community Foundation.
“As a board member of the Marion Community Foundation, as well as the co-chair of the MarionMade! Advisory Committee, I have been fortunate to watch the MarionMade! community pride program from inception,” said Nicole Workman, chair of the MarionMade! Advisory Committee and communications director for the Marion County Board of Developmental Disabilities. “Marion Community Foundation had the passion to get the program off of the ground, along with a small, but mighty, staff who worked tirelessly to grow it into a wonderful example of the good in Marion County.
“The timing is perfect for a larger organization, such as Marion Technical College, to take the great foundation that has been laid and grow MarionMade! into an even larger presence. I’m happy to see both organizations being thoughtful in the transfer process and future potential of MarionMade!”
“MTC is proud to have more than 40,000 graduates living and working in our area. In addition to managing the Harding Home and Presidential Site, this is an exciting addition to MTC’s efforts to support our community,” said Dr. Ryan McCall, president of MTC, who plans to involve both staff and students in MarionMade!
“The college’s mission has three pillars – student success, college success, and community success,” he said. “MarionMade! fits squarely within our goal of fostering community success. “
While MarionMade! will be managed by MTC’s marketing staff, students enrolled in MTC’s Business Management Marketing Media Program will be given the opportunity to propose new ideas for the community pride program as part of a class project. New stories about Marion’s people, places, products and programs will continue to be welcomed.
Beginning September 1, MarionMade! will be located in Bryson Hall, 1467 Mt. Vernon Ave, on the Marion Campus and may be reached by calling 740-389-4636 or by email at info@marionmade.org.
#MarionMade #WeAreMoving
