Macon Magazine

7 8 M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M | O C TO B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 FROM THE FIRST TIME I met Weston Stroud, I was fascinated with learning his story. We were both at one of Bike Walk Macon's commuter breakfasts discussing transportation. I quickly learned that he serves as Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority's transit planner. At 23, Weston is responsible for the planning and development of MTA's integration of new transit software, planning studies, federal government transit programs, as well as serving as a liaison for the business community, local groups, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. When the breakfast came to an end, he and Bike Walk Macon Executive Director Rachel Hollar headed to the Terminal Station to ride Route 5. As I went off to work, I thought about experiencing Macon from the seat of a bus and how different this familiar place could seem. I marveled at the passion and vision Weston clearly had for our community. Though Weston was not born here, he spent most of his childhood in Macon. The lack of family roots meant he never quite felt at home here, but when Weston went to Syracuse University in New York, his paradigm began to shift. Throughout his four years of undergraduate studies at Syracuse and subsequent role as a grassroots community organizer, Weston began to understand more deeply how locals can have the most influence within a community. "The most effective movements happen on a local level from local people who know the area and have a vested interest in their community. It was inspiring the way people would fall in love with their community, which created a sense of place," he said. As he began applying his degree and passion for change to disenfranchised individuals in New York, he began to see the positive impact he was having. The greater his impact, the greater he felt pulled back to a hometown that didn't feel like home until he left it. The time away had given him perspective on how he could fit in the narrative of Macon. "When I think about where I am from or a place I could have a hand in changing, it's not some city in Iowa or D.C. where I am just another person trying to establish myself. When I come back to Macon, I am coming back to change something, to make it better, to create the place I was CHOOSING MACON Weston Stroud PART OF A NEW SERIES THAT FEATURES INDIVIDUALS FROM OUR COMMUNITY WHO, AFTER SOME TIME AWAY, HAVE RETURNED TO SHARE THEIR SKILLS AND TALENTS HERE BY RACHELLE WILSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARYANN BATES m

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