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February 2026

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How (and why) to engage our community
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Feb. 17, 2026

Feb. 17, 2026

I hope you will join us this Monday eventing, February 23rd, for a dialogue with former Chattanooga mayor and key leader of Chattanooga Venture, Ron Littlefield. You will have the opportunity to participate in the dialogue along with top folks with the City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, and community initiatives All in Chattanooga and National Park City. The dialogue will focus on how (and why) to engage community members. Spoiler alert: It’s because that’s how we come up with great solutions that have broad support. Register to attend online at https://luma.com/cz0hwuhv. Two more dialogues are being planned. In March, we’ll focus on the precursor to Chattanooga Venture, the Moccasin Bend Task Force, with Sally Robinson who was an original member of the task force, a leader of other Venture initiatives, and city council member as well as business leader. She will be joined by top folks with the Tennessee Aquarium, National Park Partners, and others. For April we are planning a dialogue about housing anchored by Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise. You can find info about all of these events at https://luma.com/ChattanoogaVenturing. Beyond April, we’re not sure what will happen with the study group. Do you know someone who wants to help reclaim the Chattanooga Way and regain knowledge from Chattanooga Venture? We’re looking for volunteers to help with: Dialogue logistics and planning Goals & objectives Online platform content Outreach & promotions, particularly to get more diverse participation Feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions or suggestions. Sincerely, — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521

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Chattanooga Venturing Dialogue Series and Online Platform
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Feb. 5, 2026

Feb. 5, 2026

The kickoff of the Chattanooga Venturing Study Group’s 2026 program was huge success! We engaged over 60 people to experience how Venture worked and got a lot of great input for our program in the process. Provide your feedback and input here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ucUKJzJTtLqY1Uo_mbuMmZ--HhHppR-rAVKxipXCDQ…>. The purpose of the Study Group is to learn from Chattanooga Venture and related initiatives about how to engage and mobilize community members for inclusive, positive, sustainable change. The two major parts of our 2026 program are (1) a series of dialogues to learn about how Venture worked, what it accomplished, and how we can apply those lessons today and (2) an online platform to share information about Venture and the set of practices we refer to as community venturing. We encourage you to join us! Our first dialogue will be about how and why to engage community members with former Chattanooga mayor Ron Littlefield. Ron was an accomplished planner in 1983 when he recommended citizen engagement as an approach to planning for our community (read his “Plan 2000” memo from 1983 by clicking here <https://chattanooga.digital/plan-2000-memo-1983>). He was also the first executive director of Chattanooga Venture and has deep knowledge of how Venture worked. Kevin Riog, Mayor Tim Kelly’s Chief of Staff, David Littlejohn with Humanaut and the National Park City initiative, and Jill Weitz with All in Chattanooga, will join in the dialog, along with Karen Rennich, Director of the Regional Planning Agency, and Darrin Ledford, Mayor Kelly’s Deputy Chief of Staff… and all/any attendees! This event will take place on Monday, February 23rd, at 5:00 PM. All of our dialogue sessions will occur on the fourth Monday of the month at the Granfalloon, 400 East Main St. Doors open for dinner and networking at 5:00 PM, program starts at 5:30 and raps up around 7:00. Register to attend via https://luma.com/cz0hwuhv. Get more information about this and other dialogue sessions at https://luma.com/ChattanoogaVenturing. Our March dialogue will focus on Moccasin Bend, the Tennessee River, and environmental conservation with Sally Robinson. Sally was a founding member of the Moccasin Bend Task Force, the precursor the Venture, and a city council member. But that is just a hint of her impact on our community. She has deep knowledge of how Venture created major improvements, including the Tennessee Aquarium and Riverwalk. The Aquarium’s Marketing and Communications Director, Thom Benson, and Tricia King Mims, Executive Director of National Part Partners will also participate in the dialogue. Our third dialogue in April will focus on housing and will be co-produced by Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise <https://www.cneinc.org/>. All of the dialogues will be highly participatory. Attendees will have the opportunity to directly engage, question, and share insights with participants. We will capture the results, post them online, and use them to shape future dialogues and other Study Group activities. We are seeking financial support for our program. While there is no cost to participate, there are options to help us cover costs and support future sessions. We humbly request you contribute what you think the experience is worth. We are also thinking about launching a GoFundMe. If you might be willing to help or sponsor the Study Group’s activities, please reach out! — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521 You are receiving this email because you have registered for or expressed interest in activities of the Chattanooga Venturing Study Group. Please add cvsg-news(a)list.chattanooga.digital to your contacts or “safe senders” list. Anyone can sign up for the list via https://list.chattanooga.digital/mailman3/lists/cvsg-news.list.chattanooga.…. You can also create an account to manage your subscription via that page.

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