Calhoun County Storytellers: Cassidy Porter
By Lucy Hough / For Black Squirrel News
ALBION—No one knows Albion quite like Cassidy Porter.
She is a fourth generation Albion resident, she is an Albion College alumna who also served as a Build Albion Fellow, and she was an 8th grader when the schools annexed with Marshall. Now, she tells the community’s story from a unique seat. Porter’s title is community and brand ambassador, and her role is supported by seven Albion-centric institutions, including the city, chamber and foundation.
“There were leaders in the community who envisioned having someone who woke up every day and thought about all the good things going on in Albion and thinking of ways to promote and encourage that,” Porter said. “I still had a drive to give back to Albion, I wasn’t sure where or what I wanted to do, so [these leaders] were like, ‘We think this would be a great role for you.’ It was almost just perfect timing.”
Going beyond simply communicating for these organizations, Porter is positioned to holistically share what’s going on in Albion and lift up stories that demonstrate the positive assets of the community. Porter tells these stories on the organization’s social media accounts, especially Downtown Albion, as well as writing for a monthly newsletter called Naturally Connected distributed online and printed.
“There’s always been a connotation that Albion is a rough place, but these leaders were like, ‘No, this is a great place to live, work, and be. What if we had someone to help shape that narrative?’” Porter said. “It ended up being a great fit for me. I’ve always been very passionate about Albion.”
Porter’s Storytelling Sweet Spot
Porter gave a recent example of the storytelling she likes to do. For Women’s History Month, she did a series of reels and videos with different women in Albion. She likes that the videos share their voices and physical presence.
“One of my favorite in-the-groove places is when I get to talk to leaders who are making impact or people who don’t think that they’re leaders—that often seems to be the case with the women I talk to. They’ll say, ‘I’m just doing my job,’ and I’m like, ‘No, you’re making an impact.’” Porter said. “I love to share those types of stories.”
Photos are Porter’s favorite way to tell stories. She goes to community events and captures the community building that takes place there, and she sees value in being able to fill that gap for these events. They might not be able to hire a photographer, or they might not have thought of it, she said, but she loves being able to provide that service.
“I go to the Martin Luther King Jr. community resource fair every year and take pictures. I share them and that’s one of the most shared posts because I think people like being able to see the program that happened,” Porter said. “That’s where I really feel like I’m in my element, when I’m able to show the events.”
Porter is telling these stories on behalf of the the organizations that partner to support her role. Those include Albion Community Foundation, Albion Healthcare Alliance, Bohm Theater, City of Albion, Albion Downtown Development Authority, Greater Albion Area Chamber of Commerce, and Caster Cares, the philanthropic entity for manufacturer Caster Concepts.
Why Albion Needs This Storytelling
Since 2018, Porter has also worked at Pure Albion, which sells Albion-themed wares. She has held numerous roles and now works on in-house production for the business, doing small runs of Albion goods with full color vinyl, embroidery, and silk-screening.
Even though they’re separate jobs, it’s like an extension of the work she’s doing as a Brand Ambassador, she said. The two roles go well together, because both mean to support Albion in different formats. She sees herself as “showing, caring, and loving” Albion.
Porter understands why the various community leaders from these partner organizations wanted to have someone dedicated to telling Albion’s story. She too has seen how Albion is stereotyped. She saw how students at Albion College didn’t come downtown. She understands the hurt that Albion has experienced.
“I went to Albion Public Schools through eighth grade. After eighth grade the schools fully annexed. That was a really hard time for our community in general, and I would also argue it was a hard time to be a student as well. We were listening to the parents and adults have comments,” Porter said.
And although she’s familiar with the city’s trauma, her experience doesn’t match the negativity that she feels is placed on the community. She’s excited about the city’s future and hopes it can continue to grow and change into something better.
“I’ve never felt that [negativity] about my community, I’ve always felt loved and supported here,” she said. “I’m grateful to share my experience and share other experiences with the community, even further than ourselves. We’ve been through a lot of different hardships as a community and [sharing stories] means being able to share with one another we all care still.”
How we reported this: This story is based on an interview with Cassidy Porter. Cassidy runs downtownalbion.com and DowntownAlbion on social media, as well as contributes to the social media accounts for the aforementioned partner organizations.
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