There’s something special about Michigan. Two of our past seven Strongest Town Contest winners have come from the state (Muskegon and Traverse City), we hear inspiring stories from Michigan all the time, and we have some amazing, dedicated members doing good work in the Great Lakes state.

Today’s guest is one of those people. Cooper Frost hails from Charlotte, Michigan, a rural community of about 10,000 people outside of Lansing. For a while, he had been absent from the town, but during the pandemic, he came home to Charlotte and has since made it his mission to help it grow stronger.

He’s stepped up to get involved in a number of local organizations with a particular focus on economic development. He’s also purchased his mother’s house, and has begun investing in it to help build up generational wealth and stability. Additionally, Frost has been dedicated to sharing the message about bottom-up, incremental transformation through talking with community members about the Strong Towns movement and books.

Frost is part of a long line of advocates, many of whom we’ve featured on this show, who believe in their hometowns and want to see them thrive. He knows that building up passion for the place where he came from will help those around him see its value and make it stronger over the long run. He’s all about taking that next smallest step to see this vision come to fruition.

• Charlotte Rising website.

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