PopTech : Blog : Our Christmas with Glenn Beck

Our Christmas with Glenn Beck

Emily Spivack ( Bio / Posts ) | Friday, February 25, 2011 UTC

Taylor Stuckert and Mark Rembert, 2009 Social Innovation Fellows, founded Energize Clinton County (ECC) in an attempt to save their hometown, Wilmington, Ohio, from economic ruin. Wilmington was home to the largest DHL hub in the world until it closed operations there in 2008, resulting in the loss of 7,000 jobs in a town of 12,000 people. Inspired by Obama, they both quit their jobs in the Peace Corps in 2008 and returned home to devote their lives to revitalizing the city they love.

Last year, Glenn Beck discovered Wilmington and decided he was going to help. On December 15, 2010, Beck hosted his show live from Wilmington where he proceeded to glamorize the town (“It’s a Wonderful Life” was a recurring theme). Stuckert and Rembert met Beck, and Beck decided he liked them in spite of their left leaning political views. He has since made Wilmington a regular talking point on his show and featured Wilmington again on January 21, 2011.

Stuckert and Rembert were recently in New York to meet with Beck. Despite their skepticism (he has promised never to politicize Wilmington again), he continues to remain committed to helping the town and the ECC initiative. Beck’s commitment is a double-edged sword; he’s an incredibly divisive public figure but also the only nationally recognized one to make a long-term commitment to their project. And apparently, Beck’s fans have made Wilmington a must-see destination so the town is actually benefiting financially from this attention.

We asked Stuckert and Rembert to share their thoughts on PopTech’s blog about Beck’s dedication to their work and their hometown.

By Taylor Stuckert and Mark Rembert

Last fall, Glenn Beck was arguably at an all-time high for coverage on blogs, websites, talk shows, and in newspapers. He was a focal point of controversy and his bursts of emotion and contentious zingers were a constant centerpiece on the Daily Show with John Stewart. So we definitely had mixed feelings when we heard the rumor that Glenn Beck was coming to Wilmington to do an event at the Historic Murphy Theatre.

Glenn Beck promised to us, though, that he would not make this a political event. His desire was to share the story of our community’s resilience, innovativeness, and leadership. He said that he saw our community as an inspiration and a model for the rest of the country. How could we disagree with his view of our community? Our work is premised on that view—that many of the solutions to the country’s most pressing challenges are rooted in local communities.

And so he had his event; he kept his promise to not involve politics, and kept the focus on Wilmington.

After the big event we were talking to his producer and said that we wanted to be able to talk to Glenn away from the show, away from the cameras to gauge the sincerity of his intentions, and see where he was going with all of this. Without hesitation we were granted that opportunity and we met with him in office in New York. There, we had a very engaging discussion about what Beck believes needs to happen in our country, and how our community embodies much of that. He said he would like to highlight the other communities that, like us, are digging deep to find new solutions for their respective problems.

He also said that he plans on “keeping his eye” on Wilmington; that he’s excited to see how we continue to progress. We’re not really capable of predicting the ultimate outcome of Glenn Beck’s relationship with Wilmington. So far it has only been positive, and naturally we would hope that it would stay that way.

Leading up to the event, we did think “How could this be ultimately harmful?” And of the concerns we considered, nearly every one was steeped in paranoia, and mostly paranoia of trivial and superficial outcomes.

We realized then the same as we do now, that we must continue to focus on our work here. We have the state’s highest unemployment, and the amount of stimulus funds and philanthropic attention our community has received pales in comparison to the economic devastation we have faced. But this hasn’t stopped us so far and we’re not ones to complain. Our goals remain the same and our 200-year-old community will continue on with or without Glenn Beck.

Energize Clinton County began because we do believe in our community, the values that we demonstrate, and our ability to serve as a model for the rest of the country. If Glenn Beck would like to pitch in and help then he deserves a “thank you,” just like anyone else who would do the same.