When Alfred Hall arrived at the Hamilton Urban Gardens System (HUGS) on Tuesday to work with some Butler County high school volunteers, he was “devastated” the place had been vandalized for the third time in three months.

A cold, misty Saturday morning did not prevent over a hundred community leaders from coming out in support of one another at the 17 Strong Annual Celebration Breakfast hosted at Miami University Hamilton’s Wilks Conference Center.

Carol Combs, chairwoman of the Jefferson Alliance, takes her three children during the summer and school breaks to see the StreetSpark murals that have been painted around Hamilton in recent years.

This Butler County community is home to vibrant public art, welcoming businesses and an initiative that unites and highlights the city’s 17 neighborhoods.