Insights by Michelle Libby

Being a member of a community

What does one get from being a part of a community? What does a community give to its citizens? What makes a community?

With Summerfest on Saturday, our community will come together to celebrate and show off what it means to be a part of Windham. None of the festivities, from the parade, to the booths, to the entertainment and fireworks can take place without organizations and community members stepping forward to say, “I want to be a part of this.” Whether it’s marching in the parade or sitting on the lawn waiting for the fireworks to be set off by the high school principal, eating fries from the athletic boosters waving a glow-in-the-dark toy from the snowmobile club, it all counts.

As Ron Eby, one of the coordinators of Summerfest, said in an interview, the people organizing this don’t do it for themselves, they can’t. They have to do it for the betterment of the community.

I was reading in a book last night that creating a community means putting yourself out there. You can’t be part of the community from your living room, you have to get out, meet people, share common experiences.
Every year my family attends Summerfest and every year we sit in the same spot for the fireworks. The reason? We have friends that we found one year and asked to sit with them and every year, there they are waiting to see if we’ll show up for the pyrotechnics.

Knowing that you’re sharing the same things as other citizens brings us all closer together, and when you look at Facebook in the morning, there will be pictures from the event and you will see community from a different perspective.

So from The Windham Eagle, we thank those who stepped forward to be on the committee and those businesses and individuals who contributed time and sponsorships to have the opportunity to allow us to come together as a community, giving us shared experiences and expressing through actions what makes a community.