Unleasing the Underdog

Dennison Depot’s Underdog Services Provide the GRIT

Communities need to Reach their Dreams.

We have a very simple vision at the Dennison Depot:

Every community should have a dream. And they should have the opportunity to fulfill that dream.

It is a very simple yet grand vision.

And our message to these communities with a dream is this: that despite all the obstacles that may stand in your way, your vision and your dream can come true!

We believe this because we are living proof.

If we - in Dennison, Ohio, a Village of less than 2500 people in Appalachia, Ohio that is largely retired, with very little manufacturing, can raise $5 million dollars to transform our community and fulfill our dream – then we strongly believe that anyone can do this!

Don’t believe anyone that tells you otherwise. And don’t get hung up on the money.

Projects don’t fail because of a lack of money. They fail because of a lack of vision and a lack of long-term commitment to make that vision a reality. That’s the key:

vision and long-term commitment.

Our dream was to restore an 1873 Pennsylvania Railroad station that was heading straight toward demolition and revitalize it into the heart and soul of our community. Our goal was to turn this depot into a center of pride, business and tourism.

Along the way, we created jobs. We attracted neighboring businesses to town. We developed events, such as the Polar Express that brings 10,000 passengers into our community and creates 1.3 million dollars in economic development in just two weekends a year. We sparked additional historic preservation and created a solid downtown marketing organization. We helped put together a future plan that includes a Tourism Corridor and a Trailway System.

And this year, we won the Oscar of the Historical Site World – our Depot became a National Historic Landmark.

The Dennison Depot is Ohio’s 70^th National Landmark; Tuscarawas County’s very first National Landmark.

People told us we could never restore the Depot, but we did.

People told us we would never become a National Landmark, but we did.

We are here to tell you that you can also prove people wrong by growing your community in the way that you dream to grow it.

Here’s what we know: When I had the opportunity to be one of the five task force leaders in the Tuscarawas County, Ohio 20/20 Vision process, I had the chance to visit many communities in our county. As the Tourism Chairperson, we talked about their tourism needs and desires for the future.

What I found out was exciting. Almost every single community did in fact have a dream! A dream of what their community could transform itself into to become a strong tourism destination, to revitalize their downtowns and to attract and retain business.

But I also discovered that most community leaders and volunteers had no idea how to proceed with their ideas and get their projects going. They needed help. They wanted to know where they could get seed money. They were unsure of how to apply for grants or where they were available. Finding matching corporate dollars was a mystery.

So alas, many projects did not get started, or if they did start, they became stalled.

Keeping the vision and project sustained over a long period of time was a huge hurdle.

First and foremost was the common need to find initial money to begin the project. It’s the classic catch 22: You can’t move forward until you have plans and drawings, but you can’t get plans and drawings unless you have the money.

So, where can the smaller, less urban communities with very little resources go for help with community development to solve this problem?

In our county, we are blessed with great economic development resources. If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, you go to the Chamber of Commerce, the Port Authority, the Community Improvement Corporation or even the economic development office within the county commissioner’s office.

If you need tourism help, you go to the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.

But where do you go for “Community Help”? Who helps you create your identity, turn your history into a brand, show you how to engage your community and reflect that in a revitalized downtown? How do you get your residents and businesses to agree to a Master Plan, and commit time and money?

We discovered a gap that we think our experience can help fill.

After 22 years of solving this dilemma in our own neighborhood, we realized we had developed important skills that we could share.

Hence, that is how the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum’s Underdog Community Development Services was born!

Dennison was a huge underdog. We had a list full of dreams and an empty pocket. Since then, we have changed into a group of sappers with grit that have learned to move every obstacle out of our way.

Now we want to help other Underdogs.

We encourage communities with dreams to contact us.

Wendy Zucal

Director

Dennison Railroad Depot Museum

www.dennisondepot.org

director@dennisondepot.org

toll free 1-877-278-8020