About AmericanTowns

• Who We Are
• What We Do
• AmericanTowns History

Who we are

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Jim Maglione, Co-President, Community

Jim’s long involvement with high-profile, community-related companies makes him a natural for AmericanTowns, where he oversees development of content and outreach. He was Director of Development for Save the Children, and before that, a chief Sales Manager for Reader’s Digest Children’s Publishing. These positions threw a big spotlight on his gifts for team-building, grassroots marketing and developing really cool content. Jim’s passion for community doesn’t end when he shuts the lights out in his office: he’s an active volunteer with Meals On Wheels, the Norwalk (CT) Emergency Shelter and other groups.



Edward Panian, Co-President, Technology

From the earliest days of AmericanTowns in 2000, Edward has been "the man behind the curtain," engineering the seamless merger between our content and the easy-to-use technology users love. Now as the head of technology, he oversees all facets of infrastructure, ops and new product development. Ed studied at University College in Dublin, Ireland and has a degree from Fordham University in New York City.



Thao Hau, Manager, Community Development

Thao joined the AmericanTowns team at the start of our expansion, finding a perfect place to put her interest in community outreach - and her B.A. in Graphic Design - to work. Off-hours, she indulges her passion for photography and hand-crafts (including furniture and clothing design).



Bekim Sejdic, Manager, Community Development

Bekim has been with AmericanTowns since 2000, working directly with community organizations nationwide. When he’s not working with our network of AmericanTowns community groups, he’s hip-deep in web design or growing his impressive collection of horror and cult movies.



Cindy Grogan, Copywriter

Cindy began her writing career at a small, New York radio syndication firm, creating news features and comedy bits for morning radio teams. After several years with ABC Radio Networks, she began freelancing, working in broadcast, print and the internet. When she’s not writing content for AmericanTowns, the freelance life allows her time to pursue her interest in history, gardening and politics - and to work in her pajamas.


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What We Do


AmericanTowns offers communities a single online location for everything--and everyone -- needed to navigate daily life in their town. The AmericanTowns site is an indispensable practical tool and the most effective way to bring neighbors together.

IT’S ORGANIZED
By organizing a town’s many internet resources under a single umbrella, AmericanTowns helps people quickly find out what’s happening in their local government, schools, libraries and community groups. It’s the place to instantly find recreation, entertainment, fun places to take the kids, restaurants, movies, realtors, businesses and other professional services.

AmericanTowns is also the best way to stay up to date on that school amendment or zoning plan ---and make your voice heard.

LOTS HAPPENING, ONE PLACE TO FIND IT ALL
The heart of the AmericanTowns network is a community calendar. Any nonprofit group can submit events; individuals then add them to their personal AmericanTowns calendar. Use your AmericanTowns site to announce important dates: plays, games, meetings, election dates, fairs and festivals, school events and more.

SPREAD THE WORD
Our simple tools let a group or small business easily create its own content. AmericanTowns is the quickest way to spread the word about meetings, events, sales and important issues. Share your good news and post your press releases. And with additional features like polling and chat rooms, you can discover what the town is thinking and doing.

EVERYONE’S WELCOME
Everyone can use AmericanTowns - just sign up and create a page for almost anything. With a "personal profile" you can connect with others in the community who share your interests. Or use AmericanTowns to publicize an event. From theater groups, sports teams and garden clubs to historical society events, political and social activism or business chamber meetings, AmericanTowns is the virtual heart of YOUR community.

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AmericanTowns History


It was 1999 in Pleasantville, NY, and a local school bond issue had just been narrowly defeated, leaving the community angry and divided. Ted Buerger was asked to co-chair a committee of 160 concerned citizens formed to evaluate all the alternatives to this thorny issue and present their findings... in just 11 weeks. It seemed impossible until the group had an inspiration: build a central website where the committee could share its progress, solicit opinions and create its final report all under the gaze of the public eye. That website helped the committee produce a detailed, 300-page report right on schedule. The report satisfied the school board (they chose one of the 13 alternatives) and because of its transparency, the community was satisfied as well.

Buerger was struck by the power of this digital "town square". Soon after citizen committee’s work was done, he met with Mike Kelly, award-winning publisher of Entertainment Weekly (and now President of AOL Media Networks), who sitting at his kitchen table had sketched out a business plan for an online tool that citizens, groups and merchants could use to build a better community. Four days later, they formed AmericanTowns. Buerger was named Chairman; among its first employees were Jim Maglione, now Co-President, Community, and Ed Panian, now Co-President, Technology.

Pleasantville was among the first "AmericanTowns" to go live. The easy-to-use resource has since become a part of daily life there and in the other communities the site serves. In fact, in many towns, monthly visits to the site total twice the number of local households, as folks regularly check everything from the train schedule, to the community calendar, rain dates for the soccer game or news about a successful fundraiser.

In 2006, the Company decided to expand from its regional base successfully serving communities around New York City. In 2007, it developed sites for more towns, with new content, including in aggregate over 10 million community events, over 100,000 listed community organizations, and over 100,000 items posted by the communities themselves.

In March 2008, AmericanTowns introduced the new AmericanTowns.com platform you see today: a "community webspace" for each town in America, with new features, new partners, wider distribution, new user interface, and the capability to add additional features, partners and distribution virtually without limit.
(More info on corporate milestones can be found here pdf )

But its driving vision hasn’t changed from those days in Pleasantville: to create a useful, shared and "open" webspace for the community, bringing people, places and events together like never before.

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