Leah Saunders Loves ‘All Things Clinton’
Over the last several years as social media has become more prominent in people’s lives, town-specific groups on Facebook have been created to keep residents informed on local developments. For Clinton residents, that group is called “All Things Clinton…” and it was created by resident Leah Saunders.
Leah, who has lived in Clinton since she was seven years old, started the group in 2010 when the town was exploring the possibility of building the new Morgan School. Originally, the page was called The New Future, New Morgan, which Leah says was created to “try to get the public informed about the new school.” Leah, the parent of two children, Riley and Will, posted developments such as the announcement of an upcoming meeting.
After the vote to open the new school passed in 2012, Leah changed the name of the group to its current name to reflect how the group is used now. Leah says the page keeps people informed about town news, promotes events in the community, and welcomes people to just ask questions about things they’ve heard.
“It’s become a force,” Leah says.
As of press time, the group has almost 2,000 members.
“I receive 10 to 15 people requesting to join a day. It’s gotten huge,” Leah says.
Leah says the purpose of the group has is “to get as much factual information out as it can,” says Leah, putting emphasis on the word “factual.”
“Its main purpose is to keep the avenue of communication open,” says Leah.
Leah does concede that sometimes the group can get a little hectic.
“Sometimes people are negative,” Leah says.
Leah also said that sometimes people can be demanding if they send her something they want posted and she doesn’t respond to their request in time—“It’s just a hobby,” Leah explains.
The All Things Clinton group isn’t Leah’s first time developing a Facebook page. Leah also helped the Clinton PTA get its Facebook page and webpage online.
“Their page started on my kitchen table,” Leah says with a quick laugh.
Leah says that her interest in technology and designing Facebook pages is “just kind of a hobby I found.” Leah says it’s part of her personality that she enjoys communicating with others, and others seem to find it easy to talk to her.
“I can’t walk into a grocery store without talking to someone I don’t know,” Leah says.
From March 2013 to November 2017, Leah served on the Board of Finance in Clinton. Leah said she got involved with the board for two reasons. One, she had always been interested in politics, and majored in political science at Southern. Second, was “just to be involved and giving back to the community,” she says. Leah enjoyed her time on the board as it gave her a chance to “show my kids me giving back to the town,” she added.
Giving back to Clinton is something that’s very important to Leah, and something she started doing at a young age. When she got to Clinton, the high school didn’t have a girls’ soccer team. So, in her freshman year, Leah and a group of other students began fundraising and recruiting other girls to get the team started.
“We were grabbing everyone we knew—even if they didn’t play—just to have bodies,” Leah says.
Leah says the team didn’t have a good record in its first year, but it didn’t matter.
“We just wanted to play,” Leah says.
The team had to play as a JV team for two years, but in her senior year, with Leah as one of the captains, the team was promoted to varsity.
While the team still struggled to win games, “it was fun!” Leah says. “Now they’re in the states, so that’s pretty cool.”
Leah continued playing soccer in a woman’s indoor league until a few years ago.
These days, when Leah isn’t working at her job as an office manager at Grove Gardens in Clinton, she’s finding ways to volunteer around town. Leah says she volunteers with Partners in Community, and helps out with the Christmas in Clinton event. Leah also likes to volunteer with her two children.
“I’m not a fan of the word ‘No,’” she says. “I like to think anything is possible if you work hard enough for it. It’s definitely something I try and teach my children and role model for them.
“I guess that’s kind of the reason I work so hard trying to get as much information out to the townspeople. I love this town so much and really enjoy trying to foster as much involvement from everyone as possible,” she says. “I think everyone has something to offer in some way and if I can help them find a way to get involved, then that makes me happy.”