Moorestown officials announced last year they were seeking ideas for a new slogan and residents were encouraged to share their own.
After receiving more than 100 responses and narrowing them down to 16, a new motto was selected. The township’s updated website now reads: “Historic Charm, Vibrant Community,” a slogan submitted by Betsy Anderson, who moved here with her family 36 years ago.
“ … To have a town where the Revolutionary War played out, where there were Hessians and Lafayettes, really captured my imagination, and of course just visiting it when we were looking around to buy a house was something where we found a strong sense of community and it resonated with us,” she recalled.
When Anderson came across the slogan contest on social media, she was intrigued and decided to enter. Since finding out her motto was the winner, Anderson has gotten positive feedback from others in town and has shared how she received the exciting news.
“Well, I had been watching the new website, just out of curiosity, and I did hear from Kelly Flynn (assistant public information officer), who asked me to come in for a picture,” she said. “I peeked on the website before then and I saw it, and I was very happy.”
“I was just at the library and somebody said, ‘Are you the person who wrote the motto?’” Anderson added. “And she shared how she felt it was perfect for the township, and appreciated that we had come up with it.”
Anderson knew she wanted her motto to reflect Moorestown’s historic character.
“ … I thought about ‘historic charm,’ and ‘charm’ is really what it is for me,” she said of her community. “I wanted to contrast that with something that reflects the current township, because we have not stood still.”
“We are continuing to be a community where things happen.”
Anderson has made many memories in Moorestown over the years, but she reflected on how she saw her neighbors rally around each other during the pandemic.
“We would take a walk around the block and little kids had put pictures in their windows of rainbows and painted rocks …” she remembered. “That was a neat thing having people care about each other in that way …
“We’re a community that does its best to come together to help each other out.”
Anderson encourages people who don’t live in the township to explore all it has to offer.
“If you just experience the great businesses, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she observed. “There’s always something going on here in Moorestown. There’s a vibrant music scene, there’s an arts community … If you’re considering becoming a resident, you won’t lack for activities and connections that come from those activities as you meet people.”
“The history still resonates and I’m still getting to know people,” Anderson added. “I’m still getting more connected with people and I appreciate that, because that’s a good thing.”