I grew up in Ashland, I went K-12 here, got my first job in a different small town.
We came to that point where we decided where we're going to move and so the minute a job
opened up at Ashland Greenwood Public Schools, I applied for it and got it and I don't plan
on leaving.
There's lots of things that I love about Ashland, the strong sense of community which
I think is held largely in place by such a great school system.
Almost every single night you can find people within the school either just shooting hoops
or out of game.
The support, the commitment, the dedication to education with the national community is
outstanding.
The school system is one that is truly student-centered.
Working with the children and teaching third grade, I included Ashland history in our spring
lessons.
In fact, just this week I gave the Ashland history talk and we're going on a tour of
the town tomorrow.
There's a sense of safety, a sense of the same values.
I have chosen to raise my family here because I want those kinds of things for my family.
People really just take care of each other, they look out for each other, they support
each other.
If somebody is in need, people will step up and have a fundraiser or have a special event.
I do like the convenience of being halfway in between Omaha and Lincoln.
We make frequent trips to the children's museums, the zoos, soccer football games,
movie theaters, everything is really close and convenient.
There's a lot to do in the area, a lot of recreational type things.
So it's nice you have your little escape that you're kind of tucked away but you can reach
everything quickly as well.
The community is very progressive, very focused on economic development.
Just the opportunity that there is for a new start-up business to grow.
Business-wise it's a great location, it's close to Lincoln and Omaha but it still has
that small town feel.
My husband actually works in Omaha so it's nice that I work in Ashland and it's close
that he commutes to Omaha as well.
It's a town that has had really good growth over the last five years and projected to
be one of the faster growing communities in the state of Nebraska.
There's a lot of things coming into our town, new businesses that are starting and I think
that's opening lots of opportunities for our town to continue to grow and thrive.
While we're proud of that small town environment community it's still a community that's looking
to grow and expand and provide opportunities for people living here and what's exciting
for me I see a lot of our young people coming back to live in Ashland.
Ashland is a unique community, we have a variety of housing options.
We have lakefront communities, there's apartments, there's townhouses.
The biggest thing that has been neat to see is the downtown area, how they've taken care
of it and really preserved the history of it.
A lot of people end up coming to our downtown area because of our shops and our galleries
and our restaurants.
There's always something going on whether it be sidewalk sales, events at the local wineries.
The cars are always there, there's always people coming from out of town.
Ashland puts on a lot of different events throughout the year.
The big one in the summertime is called stirrup days, jam packed full of events.
Losac Museum is a great place that Ashland has close by in the safari park for families
to take their kids and just have an afternoon out.
Any time that we're out at Mahoney State Park there's always a lot of people out there
enjoying the different activities that they have there.
Kids never get bored here in town, we are lucky to have a pool, a splash pad, we have
four parks here in town.
Lots of golf courses around which I personally enjoy.
So it's just a cool place where you see people of all generations that have stayed here and
share the same memories and that's what we want for our kids too.
I grew up here, my husband grew up here, his grandparents were here and now my children,
this is their home, just the fact that we're all still happy here, speaks for itself.
The size of the community, how progressive the community is, the school system obviously,
those are all the things that will keep us in Ashland.
We call Ashland home and will for a lifetime.
