2014 brought a lot of thought-provoking, heart-warming, and inspirational pieces to us. It's important to us that not only do we get to share good news, but also that our community members share their good news with us. Our Voices Section was created to be an outlet for the positive stories, ideas, and thoughts of our readers. People from all over Northwest Indiana had something to say this year and we at NWIndianaLife.com were happy to accommodate.
Here are the Top 10 Voices Articles of 2014. Please read on and enjoy.
DHC Shows Downtown Hammond is 'Exploding With Excitement'
The Downtown Hammond Council (DHC) was established in 1954. The volunteer, not-for-profit organization's mission is to help revitalize, beautify, and promote our Downtown district. Our Downtown district is exploding with excitement! New businesses are choosing to make Downtown Hammond their home. Visitors are exploring and rediscovering our district. Events are making Downtown Hammond a destination! Volunteers and business owners are committed to our district and LOVE it! Hammond IS Happening!
There is an indescribable feeling, hard to put into words. It is triggered when you walk into a movie theater. You get a ticket at the box-office, where you open up the heavy doors into the mesmerizing room that will enchant and take you on a faraway journey or into a world of laughter, maybe into space or an animated paradise. The Mystic feeling of the thousands of movies that had played there, from black-and-white to the quality color screen sends a chill as the ghosts of cinematography’s past take their seats.
Michelle McCaskey on March Madness
March Madness. This is the time of year in the Midwest, where the transition from winter to spring is on the minds of most people, and spring break is right around the corner, too. In most high school gyms the spring sports are fighting for space and practice time, but for sixteen boys basketball teams. They are given priority as they continue towards the state finals. I have been lucky enough to watch local teams keep the dream alive, and it started at the Valparaiso Sectional just a few weeks ago.
"The Hot Dog Guy" on Why He Loves Crown Point
This will be my sixth year as "The Hot Dog Guy", and I Love, Love, Love what I do. I sat behind a desk and/or in a car in a Sales/Marketing position for 30 years and would not change it for the world. In April 2009, I opened my first hot dog cart on the southeast corner of Joliet & East street across from the Centier bank next to the Super Bowl bowling alley, and two months later my sister (as a joke/gag) bought me a hot dog hat thinking that I would not wear it.
Why I Love 'City in the Spotlight'
For the last seven years, I have made it a mission of mine to discover the United states as much as I can. And while it is always exciting to visit an urban metropolis, famous landmark or beautiful American landscape, there is something special and unique about every small or mid-size town I visit. When embarking on a road trip, the best part is always the journey - a journey that, for me at least, always includes smaller towns that provide an education in diversity in America.
Nicole Gill, a junior volleyball player at Calumet College of Saint Joseph, was one of 13 students nationwide selected to take part in the NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program sponsored by the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. She is now in the first week of the two-week program. Each day, a different student selected recaps the events of the day, sharing what they've learned and what they did in the nation's capital during off hours. Gill was given the blogging task for Day Two. Here is what she had to share:
In Their Own Words: Hornet Alumni Remember Lew Wallace
When we reached out to Lew Wallace High School alumni a few weeks back to share their favorite memories of the school after it was decided by the Gary Community School Corporation board of education that 2013-14 would the the final year for Lew Wallace as a traditional high school, we were impressed by the number of responses and more so by the specific memories they shared. Thanks to the FORMER LW STUDENTS Facebook group, Hornet alumni will forever have a place to remember their school. Since we could only include snippets in our article on several memories, here are the full responses to our inquiry for memories.
Education is Worth the Investment
There is no greater financial investment in one’s future than a college degree. While this viewpoint has its critics, the reality is the value of a degree has never been greater. Despite public questions about a degree’s worth, the pay gap between college graduates and those without a degree reached a high in 2013.
When I came home from my new school that day, I remember my grandmother telling me I'd never forget where I was. And I never have. I'll never forget when a usually-stoic teacher knocked on our classroom door with blotches of red on her face and tears stinging her eyes. I'll never forget the pastor's general self-assuredness cracking with his voice. I'll never forget our confusion and our fear for a girl I knew whose father was working in the Sears Tower that day – what if Chicago was next?
Living in the online and social media world via the Life sites gives one an unusual perspective about the world around you, because you view it through a very active electronic eye. Ultimately it means you see streams and streams of content - thoughts, comments, activities, events, threads, pictures, video, articles, blogs, tweets, and posts made from across the region and across the world. You see way too much of some things, and too little of others. You see trends, movements, changes in momentum or attitude, and you see patterns that repeat for better or worse.