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Video cuts to the heart of what Flossmoor residents love about their town

Flossmoor’s commitment to diversity rings loud and clear in a recently-released promotional video highlighting the community’s many faces and positive attributes.
 
The three-minute video features clips from events in town, such as National Night Out and Martin Luther King Day of Service, and interviews with Flossmoor residents who talk about their love for the town, its people and its “intentional inclusivity.”

  A still image from the Flossmoor video. (Provided photo)
 

Flossmoor’s commitment to diversity rings loud and clear in a recently-released promotional video highlighting the community’s many faces and positive attributes.

 
The three-minute video features clips from events in town, such as National Night Out and Martin Luther King Day of Service, and interviews with Flossmoor residents who talk about their love for the town, its people and its “intentional inclusivity.”
 
  Phil Lee, the creator of
  Flossmoor’s promotional
  video.
(Provided photo)
 

Village officials produced the video in connection with a significant diversity award Flossmoor received in September from the International City and County Managers Association (ICMA).

 
“As part of the award we won, (the ICMA) gave us an opportunity to submit a video that showcases our programming,” said Village Manager Bridget Wachtel. “It will be shown at their conference and on their YouTube channel. We saw it as something that could extend into the future as a marketing tool and a great way to highlight community.”
 
To record and edit the video, the village hired Phil Lee, a Flossmoor resident and owner of a marketing company called Spin Artist. Lee said he tried to focus on eliciting natural responses from the people he interviewed, who included Flossmoor residents and business owners.
 
“I think the video came out great because they were allowed to speak from the heart. We let them talk and we got genuine answers,” said Lee, who lives in the village with his wife, Miki, and their children, Lena, 8, and Myles, 13. 
 
“While making the video, we always tried to make sure there was an element of fun to it. You can go on the village website and get information; when I shoot a video, my intention is for it to always go viral.”
 
The spirit behind the video, which is available on the village website’s home page, wasn’t one of sales, but celebration, he said. Rather than trying to convince the viewer to love Flossmoor, the video showcases reasons residents appreciate their town.
 
In quick-moving clips, the cheerful video introduces viewers to the friendly feel and inclusive values that make the town tick. Residents talk about the town’s diverse population, its volunteer can-do spirit and how much they love the schools and safe streets.
 
In the middle of the video, Village Clerk Joni Bradley-Scott adds a bit of fun as she shows via green screen imagery how the Metra Electric line can take people to and from downtown Chicago. 
 
During a memorable montage, Bradley-Scott appears “in front of” Navy Pier, the Cloud Gate “Bean” in Millennium Park and the famed Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, before being easily deposited back on the platform at Flossmoor’s Metra station.
 
“I am definitely not the in-front-of-the-camera person. I’m a worker bee behind the scenes,” Bradley-Scott said. “So doing that was out of my comfort zone. But when you’re talking about something you’re passionate about, it makes it worthwhile.”
 
In addition to serving as village clerk, Bradley-Scott serves on the parent-teacher organization at Heather Hill Elementary School and volunteers around town. She appears alongside her family in the video, including her husband, Percy Scott, and their children, Zavier Scott, 10, and Aubri Scott, 7.
 
“I was honored to be asked to be in the video and to be able to be part of it with my family,” Bradley-Scott said. “Flossmoor is family to us, so it was an honor that we could highlight our area.”
 
Bradley-Scott, who is also a real estate agent, said she thinks the video has potential to bring awareness and new residents “who had no idea what Flossmoor could offer them.”
 
According to Wachtel, the village asked Grillo Group for help in framing the concept of the video. That marketing agency previously conducted a branding and marketing survey for the village. 
 
However, Wachtel said though the video crew asked questions, none of the interviewees’ answers were scripted. They captured people’s genuine opinions of what Flossmoor means to them.
 
“It was amazing to see their impressions of the community were consistent with what we saw a year ago with our branding exercise,” Wachtel said. “It was refreshing and encouraging to hear people from the community speak about it so positively.”

 

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