Congratulations to HGTV's Community Crusaders

HGTV is proud to honor these people who are making their communities better places to live.

Blake Dankert
Community Crusader - November
President, Redevelopment & Revitalization Committee

Brunswick, Missouri, was once a robust town with a thriving economy, but hard economic times and a devastating flood in 1993 turned this once booming town into a dying community. In 2007 Blake Dankert, an idealistic 21-year-old native, helped to breathe new life into his hometown by starting the Brunswick Redevelopment & Revitalization Committee.

As president of the Revitalization Committee, Blake has written several grants to help rehabilitate this town and has put in hundreds of hours of sweat equity. These efforts have paid off. A downtown city park was recently built on the site of an abandoned building, new planters have been installed in the business district and a building facade program for downtown building owners is now a reality. But Blake is just getting started. He has recently met with an architectural firm to design an outdoor courtyard in the heart of the community for public gatherings. In addition, he is busy working on a grant application to have an historic movie theater renovated to house the future Brunswick Area Heritage Museum and Welcome Center. To help defer the cost of some of these projects, Blake has raised thousands of dollars through various fundraising efforts.

Blake Dankert's vision and leadership in revitalizing this town is truly an inspiration to us all.

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