Connect to Community initiative to strengthen bond between Powell, NWC

On a cold, snowy morning in early February, community members gathered to discuss ideas on reinforcing Powell’s image as a “college town.”

That meeting resulted in the formation of Connect to Community, or C2C — an initiative designed to bring the college and the community closer together. Six months later, C2C is hosting Paint the Town Red on Friday, Aug. 25, and Saturday, Aug. 26. It’s a series of events to celebrate the return of NWC students for fall semester and the downtown businesses that support them.

At last winter’s meeting — facilitated by Northwest College President Stefani Hicswa and Powell Economic Partnership Executive Director Christine Bekes — “We kept hearing things like, ‘We want Powell to be more of a college town,’” Hicswa said.

A committee consisting of local business owners and college representatives was formed to sift through all of the information gathered at listening sessions and formulate an action plan.

“What we realized early on is that you can drive through this town and not even know there’s a college,” Hicswa said. “So we got together and brainstormed some ideas, trying to figure out priorities for connecting. Some really good ideas emerged out of those meetings.”

One of the ideas was the genesis of what would become Paint the Town Red. Initially, the plan was just to paint downtown windows red to welcome students back to Powell. That quickly evolved into a concert and dance at Plaza Diane, food trucks to provide a variety of grub, activities such as face painting and basketball demonstrations and a contest/poker run where people will vote on their favorite painted windows downtown. More than 30 businesses agreed to have their windows painted red.

For those made of sterner stuff, the Heart of a Trapper Trail Run and Hike is scheduled for the next day at Heart Mountain. Extreme runners are encouraged to take on one of the toughest challenges in the area, but day hikers and families are also invited to participate.

“We wanted to start some traditions on campus,” Hicswa explained. “Retention literature says that traditions and legacy-type events really help connect students. Shelby [Wetzel, executive director of the NWC Foundation] said ‘Let’s get them all to hike Heart Mountain.’ So we turned it into a booster club event as a fundraiser as well.”

Following the Heart Mountain run/hike on Saturday, Aug. 26, NWC’s fall sports teams will all open their home schedules, with men’s and women’s soccer playing at 3 p.m and 5 p.m. and volleyball at 7 p.m.

“I think this whole weekend is an incredible opportunity for Powell and the college,” Hicswa said. “The more we work together, the more synergy we can create — it’s a win-win for everybody.”

That’s not to say planning the event has been smooth sailing. Friday, Aug. 25, is also the home opener of the Powell High School football team — an event that wasn’t on NWC’s radar when they chose the weekend. Hicswa said she is hoping the football game will work in NWC’s favor, with fans heading downtown when it’s over to take part in the festivities.

“Our event goes from 4 p.m. to midnight, so people can come before and after the football game, and the street dance after,” she said. “We’ve unintentionally created a nice after-game event for the community, so that’s a way to connect even more.”

Since the meeting in February, NWC and PEP have worked to make the C2C initiative one that produced tangible results. Hicswa said she has enjoyed working with Bekes on the project and praised her work ethic and commitment to Powell and the college.

“She has good ideas and insights, and I credit her and Rebekah Burns at the chamber for getting businesses excited about this,” Hicswa said.

Bekes said NWC has been great to work with, and she is amazed at how quickly the event came together.

“The response from businesses has been incredible,” Bekes said. She said Burns helped educate businesses about the opportunity.

Hicswa also praised the Powell Police Department for its support of Paint the Town Red and continuing service to the college and community.

Next weekend’s festivities are just the first of what Hicswa and Bekes hope are many events that will function as a bridge between NWC and the community. Bekes said continued support from the community is what will make them a reality.

“The community is hungry for this initiative, and the response has been great,” she said.

Future endeavors will seek to include more businesses.

“What we’re hearing is ‘Hey, don’t forget about us off Bent Street,’” Bekes said. “We have a few different initiatives going on in which we really try to rope in the off-Bent Street businesses, so there will be that presence, which will be fantastic.”

From a student-retention standpoint, Hicswa said it’s exactly these kind of events that keep students involved and excited to return to campus every year.

“The reasons why students leave college isn’t because they flunk out or are struggling in school,” Hicswa said. “The reasons they leave is that they don’t make connections. ... They leave because they feel like they don’t belong, they feel isolated.”

She added that, “We were very intentional about picking this weekend so that it was the first weekend of school to engage students — to make sure students are out and about and connecting with the community and seeing what it has to offer.”

Country singer Kristen Merlin, a semi-finalist on NBC’s “The Voice,” performs in a free public concert Friday evening, Aug. 25, as part of Northwest College’s Paint the Town Red activities in downtown Powell.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Plaza Diane.

In addition to Merlin’s semi-finalist status on season six of NBC’s “The Voice” competition, Merlin has racked up an impressive list of musical credentials, including 2015 Women’s Solo Artist of the Year by the Association for Promotion of Campus Activities. She has stood atop the iTunes Country chart and performed the National Anthem for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Her song “Boomerang” hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and Best Solo-Acoustic Act on the South Shore.

Since competing on “The Voice,” Merlin has performed in a variety of venues, including frequent appearances on college and university campuses with her acoustic guitar, and she continues to record new music. She’s also shared the stage with Kellie Pickler, Sugarland, Bryan White, Shakira and others.

Her vocal music career reportedly started when she sang “Never Never Land” as a first-grader during her elementary school’s rendition of Peter Pan. In her junior year of high school, she was given her first guitar, and she began writing her own material.

Merlin earned a bachelor of arts in music and sound recording from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

A schedule of NWC’s Paint the Town Red events is available at nwc.edu/red.