City growth effort looks to local clubs, groups

FORT MADISON - A routine argument for a perceived stagnancy in Fort Madison has always been, there's nothing to do.

A committee formed to look at marketing the city to people to look at potentially relocating to the city, wants to create a directory of local clubs, groups, and hobbyists that currently exist in the city.

Fort Madison Mayor Matt Mohrfeld is holding pillar group meetings looking at different aspects of how to grow Fort Madison including among other things; housing, jobs, and quality of life.

The quality of life aspect spilled into the marketing pillar committee Monday night and the group centered on creating a directory of what nuance clubs and not-so-nuanced clubs exist in the city.

Emily Benjamin, of Freeport McMoran, who sits on the committee said one of the ways to capitalize on that would be to give those groups a presence at events already in place, such as the Downtown Summer Markets or the Baxter Sports Complex.

But to set it up properly, the group would need to know what clubs are out there. The group wants to know what clubs are still out there, what new clubs have been formed, what clubs have disbanded, and what groups are actively pursuing new members.

To that end, the group is asking for anyone with active clubs in the city to list their club and a contact name and email or club social media tag in this social media feed or at the end of this piece.

The end goal would be to create a fun and integrated directory listing all the clubs and groups that are active and functional with events, meetings, and activities.

If you want to put your club in a place of visibility and possibly be included in efforts currently underway to reach potential new members, the pillar group is asking that  those involved in clubs or groups in the city list information here to help create that directory.