Leading by Example
Take a drive down West Pulaski Street from Dupont to MLK in North Flint. Green lawns are neatly groomed, flowers are blooming and the attention given to homes is noticeable. It’s a beautiful example of how one man’s aspirations can transform an area.
For Willie Smith, who has traveled the world while serving the U.S. Army, this neighborhood is home. He lives across the street from his mother, Jane Smith, who moved to West Pulaski Street 25 years ago. Jane says most of the people are eager to work together to better the neighborhood. Her son Willie leads by example.
“Through my many travels, I have seen the same thing … people just want to live in a nice place. Some don’t know how to get there. I try to become the linkage between the two.”
Beautification efforts have happened over the past three years with support from the Community Foundation’s Neighborhoods Small Grants program. A $900 grant supported lawn equipment and solar LED lights. A $1,000 grant brought the West Pulaski Street Block Club together for a summer celebration. And a $5,000 grant built the shed that houses the equipment, tables, chairs
and a pop-up pavilion for meetings, events and training sessions.
“I find it amazing that when one person does yard work, everyone does,” says Willie. “We provide the training and equipment and people join in. If we don’t do it, who will?”
His community service extends to the North Flint Neighborhood Action
Council where he serves as vice president.
Willie’s next goal is to transform a blighted home into an aquaponics center where he can produce lead-mitigating plants and fish, offering it to community members and using the pop-up pavilion as a distribution site. He’s purchased the blighted property from the Genesee County Land Bank.
“My vision is to have an urban gardening facility,” he says. “My goal is to
build a green tech space that will serve as a training ground for green jobs.”
With Willie taking the lead, there’s not a doubt that his latest goal will be
accomplished.
