Andrew McCrea, the author of "The Total Town Makeover" visited the Finke Theatre on Friday.
California Progress Inc (CPI), a community betterment organization, invited McCrea to town to speak to both the California Area Chamber of Commerce and residents about small-town success stories.
During his presentation, McCrea gave background on his experience researching small towns and how he became interested in the subject.
The author has been reporting on small rural towns for some time as a part of his career in radio and broadcasting. According to a promo from CPI, McCrea is "the host of a nationally broadcast radio feature, 'The American Countryside,' a program that has won five Oscars in Agriculture for rural and agricultural broadcasting." The Oscars in Agriculture are a part of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
It's often said that small towns are dying, however, McCrea's book takes a second a look at this claim by analyzing successful and economically healthy areas and looking at what they were able to accomplish.
Throughout his presentation, McCrea named several small towns within the midwest. One such as Lucas, Kansas, the state's grassroots art capital. With a population of 394 people, he explained, Lucas performed very well with tourists, however, it was the addition of Lucas' Bowl Plaza which helped stabilize interest in the town because it offered a public restroom for visitors to use.
He mentioned cities that built museums, playhouses and youth centers. A key to creating a successful small town is emphasizing and enhancing what is unique to itself.
When asked what California's doing positively to stay successful, McCrea answered it's already doing a lot.
"You have so much you're doing right," McCrea told the Democrat. "The theater, we're standing in - beautiful. You've taken many buildings in this town and since brought them back to life. You gave them new purpose, put new businesses in them, (including) the Veterans Memorial. So you've already done many things, I think, in this town very well."
McCrea's advice to the City of California is to not underestimate itself. He said don't be afraid to look at what you would like to have happen in California and believe it can happen. He said it takes people coming together and saying, "This is something that we not only want but need. We can make it happen in a town the size of California."
He said the city should not be afraid to dream. McCrea emphasized a lot of towns remain stagnant because they haven't done what California has already achieved because they were unwilling to dream.
"California already has a lot of assets, a lot of things going for it," McCrea said. "You have a rural in small town feel, but yet you're close to larger places and that's a great combination. So don't be afraid to embrace that and run with it. Because that's a very good thing that you have going for you. A lot of people wish they have what you already have. So just keep building off that."