The Why Behind ‘This is Springfield’

Springfield 2051 and This is Springfield are all about telling the real stories of our community.

The best way to get to know someone is to sit down and listen to their stories — a fact as true for a city as it is for a person. 

So, when the city of Springfield, Ohio, found itself used as a political prop during the 2024 presidential campaign, community leaders realized that the best way to correct the record was to tell the real stories of their hometown. After a community meeting in early 2025, local stakeholders, philanthropic organizations, social services groups and business leaders set out to change the narrative.

This Is Springfield: Telling the Real Story

From that meeting, says Chris Schutte, came two parallel initiatives: the This is Springfield campaign and the Springfield 2051 community building project, which launched in August 2025. Schutte is the vice president of destination marketing for the Greater Springfield Partnership and has been involved in every step of the process.

“Both initiatives are rooted in the same desire to help our community thrive, to help us all connect to each other, and to remind ourselves why we choose to be part of this community,” says Marta Wojcik, executive director and curator at the Westcott House Foundation and an integral part of Springfield’s arts and culture community. “There is a great desire to communicate better, by getting together to figure out some important truths about ourselves, and by communicating these truths both internally and to the outside world.”

This is Springfield started with videos and social media posts that highlighted stories about the city’s diverse, innovative community. “Springfield is full of doers, makers, artists, workers and achievers,” Schutte says. “Springfield is — and always has been — about our people. Springfield’s place on the National Road in the early 1800s led to an influx of immigrants and entrepreneurs who in many ways shaped not just the future of Springfield, but the future of our country.”

“The heartbeat of Springfield is sustained by our community of activists,” Wojcik says. “From the Summer Arts Festival to the Second Harvest Food Bank to Haitian Coalition, you see familiar faces everywhere and you can’t help but be awestruck by their endless energy and compassion. No matter the cause, large or small, people find a way to form alliances to collectively make a difference.”

The perception-building campaign was a success and grew into ThisIsSpringfield.com, a website that hosts information about the city and stories about the people, businesses and culture that make up the community. The site also serves as a portal to information about the Springfield 2051 project, a 15-month community building process for Springfield and Clark County that launched in August 2025.

Springfield 2051: A Community-Driven Roadmap to the Future

Springfield 2051 sprang from further meetings with the group, and eventually with Governor Mike DeWine’s office, which led leaders to realize that it was time to update their community’s roadmap to the future. Supported by state and local government and Springfield’s philanthropic community, and spearheaded by a coalition of citizens and community organizations, the project is guided by an expert team at regional planning consultancy Future iQ, and rooted in the company’s people-focused, data-driven, future-oriented methodology. 

Through the process, the group will engage community members to learn about important work happening across the region, identifying strengths and challenges. The group’s research will chart paths to align resources throughout the area and promote unity among stakeholders. The outcome will be a set of initiatives with specific goals, driven by the people who call Springfield and Clark County home. 

“Our hope is to see our residents feel a true sense of pride in their community, to feel that they are heard as part of the process,” Schutte says. “To have a palpable sense that we are all working together to build a better future for everyone. Springfield 2051 is a critical piece of this process, which will be amplified by This is Springfield to a local, regional and national audience.”

“As we launch Springfield 2051, I think about the process ahead of us, and what a great opportunity it is to develop an authentic narrative about ourselves,” Wojcik says. “As it’s been wisely stated, ‘It’s hard to hate up close.’ Our differences may not dissipate completely, but perhaps subside a bit if we decide to get closer to each other.”

Become Part of the Story

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