Snellville's Labels

Oval  SNLVL© sticker is a label ;-)

I remember when I started writing My Snellville Blog, I couldn't find much about Snellville. It's hard to believe that was over 5 years ago! The city had a website that wasn't as nice as what we have now, but that was about all I could find that was positive about Snellville. 

At first, there wasn't much to post here. As time went on, people started sending me information about things happening in the area. It gradually caught on. Now. by using Twitter and a Facebook fan page, people are really sharing information with each other. I think the combination of My Snellville Blog, the social networking sites, along with great events in Snellville like the Farmers' Market, Fall Festival and Tree Lighting (organized by the Snellville Tourism and Trade Association) have really galvanized our sense of community in Snellville.

Outsiders (and some insiders) have tried to label Snellville and the people here as everything under the sun. Snellville's been labeled as a white redneck/hick town, and even "the 'Hood." Just yesterday, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer called Snellville "posh."  How can we be all these things? Are we? Well, we had a former city councilman who used an old toilet bowl in his yard as a planter and now we have a Panera Bread restaurant, so maybe there is some truth to the posh redneck theory.

No matter how badly others want to label the residents of Snellville, it will be up to those of us who live here to shape what will "stick."  The new "visioning" plan will hopefully help Snellville forge a marketable identity.

During the recent Snellville Fall Festival, I enjoyed sitting on the lawn of Snellville City Hall while watching my kids play in the inflatables.  I noticed people of all walks-of-life enjoying the event. All different ages, many different ethnic backgrounds, all enjoying the event together. I thought to myself that this is what Snellville really is. Snellville is community. Genevieve Riggs echoed this thought recently, when she wrote about Good Neighbors in Snellville.

I feel that it's a salute to our city that more people are noticing Snellville's growth are now getting online to cover Snellville. Some of them are pouring a lot of money into their ventures. I've invested less than $100 (total) into My Snellville Blog in the past 5 years. I'd be willing to bet that in 5 more years' time, I'll still be here. I'm not so sure about the other guys. You see, it's not about the money I make doing this. If it was, I would have given up long before now. It's about having a passion for your topic. A paycheck doesn't give you passion. You either have it or you don't.

I've received several thank you e-mails from readers, and I do appreciate that so much. I could really go on and on, listing all the nice things people do to help me bring this site to you on a daily basis. So keep writing in and sending me your news and any ideas or suggestions you may have.

Technically, I may be doing this blog alone, but I'm not in this alone. (I know, because I can hear you breathing!) You all help me so much, and for that I thank you.  You are why I do this.

Yes, and even you - the posh redneck gangstas of Snellville.