Keep Iowa Beautiful hires Community Coach for Hamilton County
Julie Wright hired as Hometown Pride coach
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Keep Iowa Beautiful introduces Julie Wright as the Hometown Pride Community
Coach for Hamilton County, marking the official launch of the Hometown Pride program in the nine communities of Blairsburg, Ellsworth, Jewell, Kamrar, Randall, Stanhope, Stratford, Webster City, and Williams.
In her new role as Hometown Pride Community Coach, Wright will work with each town in
Hamilton County to help launch Hometown Pride – a volunteer-driven community betterment
program that focuses on improving public spaces, building community pride, and strengthening
local leadership. Each town will form a Hometown Pride committee of resident volunteers who
will identify and complete betterment projects that are tailored to the unique needs of the
community. More than 100 towns have participated in Hometown Pride since its inception in
2012.
Wright brings a strong combination of experience as a business owner, business coach, and all-
star volunteer for her own hometown. She has been the owner of a professional service firm for
more than 30 years, and is a business advisor for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
program. As a volunteer in Clear Lake, Wright led an initiative to raise millions of dollars and
coordinate hundreds of volunteers to create one of the region's largest tourist attractions -
Central Gardens of North Iowa. She is co-owner of a main street business and author of the
soon-to-be published book, "Prosperous Towns." Wright holds a B.S degree from Iowa State
University in IAd/Business - Marketing.
"I love it when communities create their own futures...and I get to help them jump into that
vision," shared Wright. "Together, volunteers in Hometown Pride communities are leading the
way for the next generations to live, play, create and work in prosperous towns in rural Iowa."
Hamilton County applied to Hometown Pride earlier this year, as a collaborative effort involving
Hamilton County, Hamilton County Growth Partnership, Ames Regional Economic Alliance, and
the nine participating communities. The new communities were selected to participate in the
program based on their demonstrated readiness and enthusiasm for working together to create
long-term community improvements.
“Hometown Pride is built on the belief that the best ideas for a community come from the people
who live there,” said Andy Frantz, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “The most successful small towns are those where residents work together to achieve shared goals. We’re
excited to bring on Julie Wright in the Hometown Pride coach role for Hamilton County, to
support volunteers as they turn local ideas into lasting impact.”
Wright will begin her new role on October 19.