The Made Possible in Lehigh Valley initiative seeks to share the stories of the people and companies in our region, and let them explain why Lehigh Valley is a special place where you can create a life, a business, or a career, on your terms.

We’ve been telling those stories through the official Made Possible in Lehigh Valley Instagram account. Below are just a few of those posts from the past month. Follow it on Instagram @lvmadepossible, and be sure to use the hashtag #lvmadepossible. And if you’ve got a story you’d like to see highlighted there, let us know!

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John Davis and his family relocated from Texas so he could take a position at @pplelectric. We asked him what he loves about Lehigh Valley … On moving to LV from Texas: "People could not be more accommodating. We moved into our house, and our neighbors came over to introduce themselves. They baked us cookies and everything." On the best outdoor activity: "Any of the parks! The one downtown in Allentown, Orange Park, Trexlertown. We love all of them, and my kids love going outside and playing. That’s why I love the summers here.” On LV's best-kept secret: "I don’t know if it’s a best-kept secret, but Easton downtown is pretty cool. The restaurants down in the circle area and the nightlife, it’s really good." John made it happen. Lehigh Valley made it possible. #lvmadepossible #findyourpossible #lehighvalley #careers #ppl #relocate #community #parks #friends #iglehighvalley #igallentown #downtownallentown

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Sep 18, 2019 at 7:13am PDT

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Air Products broke ground today on its new global headquarters in #lehighvalley. Located on a 50-acre tract on Upper Macungie Township, the new state-of-the-art facility will be the base of 2,000 employees when it opens in the summer of 2021. The new #airproducts facility is a true example of what's made possible in Lehigh Valley. The Fortune 500 company has been a part of the community since the 1940s, and when the company decided to establish a new headquarters, President & CEO Seifi Ghasemi said there was no doubt it would stay right here in Lehigh Valley. "Air Products has a nearly 80-year history, most of it right here in the Lehigh Valley," Ghasemi said. "There are certain values instilled in people because of where we are today, because of the people who live in this area, who contribute to its success, and who call it home. There is a lot of value in preserving that. So it became clear this location worked best for us, and we have never wavered from the decision to stay." Air Products made it happen. Lehigh Valley made it possible. #LVmadepossible #lehighvalley

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Sep 18, 2019 at 12:14pm PDT

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The highly-anticipated Downtown Allentown Market finally opened this month! Located on the city's ArtsWalk, the 12,000 culinary destination includes nine bays for local and regional food merchants offering high-quality, fast-casual food and drink. It's generating such excitement that even Food Network star @chefirvine wanted to get in on it! Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine, which serves high-quality dishes produced in full view of customers at counter seating, is one of nearly a dozen of the market's new restaurants. “Allentown has become an increasingly popular destination for dining and we’re excited to bring our unique fresh-meets-fun concept to the Downtown Allentown Market,” Irvine said. #lvmadepossible #lehighvalley #allentown #DAMThatsTasty (photo courtesy @citycenterallentown)

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Sep 25, 2019 at 12:01pm PDT

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Do chickadees have a sense of smell? That was one of the questions at the heart of a new study by Lehigh University Ph.D. student Alex Huynh and professor Amber Rice, who researched the role odor might play in mate selection among naturally hybridizing songbirds. Rice, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at @lehighu, studies natural hybridization (or when separate species come into contact and mate) to better understand how species originate and how existing species are maintained. Huynh and Rice set out to test the potential for scent to act as a mate choice cue. Lehigh Valley's location in the "hybrid zone" where black-capped and Carolina chickadees live in the eastern Pennsylvania region made the research possible. "The sense of smell has been very understudied in birds, particularly songbirds, because they frequently have such impressive plumage and song variation," Rice said. There's so much to learn about here in Lehigh Valley; what will YOU discover here? #lvmadepossible #lvbacktoschool #lehighvalley

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Aug 30, 2019 at 11:30am PDT

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I moved here because I went to school at @muhlenbergcollege and got a job at Olympus right after college ended. I love living here because there is always something to do! Coming from a small town in #Connecticut where nothing ever happened, I was thrilled to live in the LV where there is always an event or fest or fun activity for me to participate in! The sense of #community is incredible! I also love being so close to several major cities – NYC, Philly, and D.C. I have endless choices about what to do every weekend! I love all of the "fests" that happen here! In CT, we didn't have anything like #Musikfest, #celticclassic, #BaconFest, Craft Beer Fest, etc… it's so much fun to gather at the same place/time with so many people all interested in the same thing! @molsmaj made it happen. Lehigh Valley made it possible.

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Sep 11, 2019 at 7:01am PDT

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?? Vanessa Ungvarsky, owner of @taylormadepolish in Easton, tells us what she loves about the area. I've lived in Downtown Easton for 13 years (before it was considered cool). We're invested in the success and growth of Easton and the entire Lehigh Valley with our property investments, school age children and now brick and mortar location. What do you love about living here? The potential for growth and the supportive community certainly top the list, but the close proximity (entertainment wise) to nearly any activity you want: NYC, Philly, the shore, lakes, camping and more. Advice for someone who is considering moving here? Absolutely visit. I have yet to find someone who's visited where the topic doesn't come up about living here. Favorite Lehigh Valley place? My Taylor Made Polish studio. We are home of the patent-pending "Make Your Own Nail Polish" experience. We're the only one of its kind and we have an amazing and welcoming space that's walk-able to everything in Downtown Easton.

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Sep 20, 2019 at 9:56am PDT

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The #backtoschool season is back for the Lehigh Valley, one Penn State Lehigh Valley professor spent his summer working on a project about an interesting and unique topic: the soil on Mars. Dan Jackson teaches astronomy, physics and mathematics at @psulehighvalley. He and two student researchers are working on a project called Green Thumb on a Red Planet. The idea is to obtain a sample that is the closest analog to Martian soil based on the most recent soil surveys from the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on Mars. They'll work to investigate how that lifeless rocky material can be transformed into viable and useful soil by planting several generations of plants repeatedly in the same sample to increase the soil's organic composition. And it all stemmed from of his student researchers expressing excitement about the possibility of colonization of the moon or Mars. "My favorite parts of this experience are seeing the excitement of my students as they progress through the project," Jackson said. There's no limit to what you can learn and what's possible in Lehigh Valley! #lvmadepossible #lvbacktoschool #lehighvalley

A post shared by Made Possible in Lehigh Valley (@lvmadepossible) on Aug 28, 2019 at 11:30am PDT