HGTV Home Town Takeover -- Why not Elmira, New York?

Alex Chichester February 2020

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In 2020, HGTV announced a competition for cities across the United States to enter into for a chance to be featured on a new show they were developing, Home Town Takeover. The winning city would be visited by HGTV and be given a revitalization makeover. I created a video wherein I said that my home town of Elmira should enter, and it blew up locally -- at first it was organic and was simply shared on Facebook, but then I was featured on local news, radio, and even started getting recognized on the street. I had many people reaching out to me asking how they could help, and after some planning, created an event at a local community center where anyone could come and give an interview about why they believed Elmira should be chosen. We had many participants, including members of the local government, police department, school system, etc. Ultimately, we weren't chosen for the show, but I'm proud of my town for coming together to make something, having hope that things could be better. There are things I would change about the video if I were to release it today, but we're all our own worst critics.