A Community driven by care

By Graham Peterson, Alexandria Area High School senior

To most, the significance of Alexandria, MN will only represented by a dot on a map; to others, a team of Cardinals that somehow manages to clinch a spot at the state hockey tournament seemingly every other year; and to all, a utopia for all things water sports. But for those approximate 13,500 of us lucky enough to live here, Alexandria carries a much more compelling importance. To us, it is a home… the ultimate destination to live, work and play. Much more than just a tourist attraction or marking on a map. The pride surrounding that idea is apparent in everything and everyone in town.

In my case, living in Alexandria my whole life and now beginning my senior year of high school, I never realized the extent of this pride. I’ve always known it was there, and have felt it myself, but its presence became wildly more prevalent with my experience working on the Pride of the Lakes team.

As my affiliation with this ‘Do Business Local Campaign’ grew, I began to see how willing my friends and neighbors were to invest in our community. This tenacity was shown in my time spent presenting to various organizations eager to better our community, the growing number of pledges taken on the Pride of the Lakes website, and the influx of touching testimonies written by residents on what our city means to them.

This display of unconditional care and pride became nothing short of inspiring to me. An influential collection of ideals held by a mass of people intent on forming a better life for themselves, their neighbors, and their children. It is said that the hardest part about inspiring change is taking the first step. In the case of Alexandria, leaps and bounds have already been taken. It’s up to us, the residents of this great community to sustain those strides.
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If you want to learn more about what you can do to support Alexandria and Douglas County, visit www.PrideoftheLakes.com or Pride of the Lakes on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!