Making a Difference by Making a Difference

As the old saying goes: “The devil’s in the details.”  Details don’t make for great headlines, unless you’re paying close attention.
 
For the past several years nobody’s paid closer attention to the details of Tredyffrin government than Pattye Benson.
 
Most people don’t attend Board of Supervisors meetings. Fortunately for those who don’t even know when the township’s governing body meets, Benson is there. She’s there holding elected officials accountable, even when those elected officials are her friends. Many of them are. Virtually all of them have a respect for the creator and writer of . 
 
Pattye Benson ran for the Board of Supervisors as a democrat and lost. Democrats often have a steep, uphill battle in Tredyffrin where the voter registration numbers favor the GOP.  “I was a lifelong independent and if there’s only ever been two Democrats elected, I didn’t think I had a chance as an independent. I was never really comfortable picking a party because all my life I had been an independent”  After the election I went back to my roots as a registered independent and that’s where I think I’ll remain for the rest of my life.”  It’s also why she thinks it may be easier for her to write Community Matters than it would be for someone else because “I don’t have a bias for one political party over another.”
 
Pattye Benson may indeed wield far more power as a non partisan “citizen journalist” than she ever could have as a member of the board.
 
After the unsuccessful campaign she wanted to make sure her voice still got out there.  She asked a friend who had a blog about numbers.  “I remember thinking how exciting that 100 people would come and care what you think.”
 
Eighteen months later, she'd already had as many as 2,000 page views a day for her blog. “I’ve had people actually say to me they are glad I lost, because you can have more influence than you would having just one seat on the board.”
 
“What I’ve come to (conclude) is that there are a lot of people out there who have tired of politics, who have tired of the back and forth and they just want somebody who doesn’t have a bias” to tell them what’s going on.
 
What That Means for You
 
The result is that readers of Benson’s Community Matters Blog (which is featured in the TE Patch Local Voices Blog section) have not only a set of ears, but a voice with elected officials. Unlike a traditional reporter, Pattye is a citizen journalist. She has a right to be heard. She has the same right as any other Tredyffrin citizen to stand up in a meeting and demand accountability from elected officials.

Making History by Preserving History
 
Benson’s involvement and interest in Tredyffrin goes way beyond standing up and demanding answers at the Board of Supervisors.
 
As a member (and a major driving force behind) the township’s Historical Commission, Benson is a leader in preserving the landmark buildings and homes in Tredyffrin.
 
She has spent most of the last 10 years as President of the The Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust. For the past seven years, she has organized the Historic House Tour, which gives average citizens an opportunity to tour houses that often date back 100-300 years.

Private citizens who have no obligation to open their doors, find it almost impossible to say no when Benson asks. In seven years of the event, no house has been on the tour more than once.
 
Leadership in Action
 
One week after the house tour, Benson was a driving force behind Tredyffrin’s biggest community event of the year.  As co-chair of the she uses her powers of persuasion to help pull together sponsors, performers and exhibitors in a day that celebrates what’s great about Tredyffrin and the Upper Main Line.
 
History That's More Than an Interest; It’s a Lifestyle
 
Her interest in history and supporting the community extends beyond festivals, historic tours and the halls of government, right into her own home.

Not surprisingly, it’s not just any home. It’s the oldest home in the township. She and her husband have turned The Great Valley House of Valley Forge into a thriving bed and breakfast, making her a literal hostess for Tredyffrin history.  Benson wakes up early to make an amazing breakfast for her guests. She always has a full plate of all things Tredyffrin no matter what else is on the breakfast menu.