One of the most important, empowering lessons from Venture is that we have the solutions, we just don’t know it because we don’t have shared understanding of the challenges. This gap keeps us from appreciating our resources and making the most of our opportunities. To identify the solutions we need to know what matters to our family, friends, neighbors, ourselves, and all of us. To get a great solution, understand the purpose first. The Chattanooga Venturing Study Group seeks to answer this question: what are our goals, issues, needs, opportunities, and resources as a community? How can we build, improve, and strengthen our community? We are going to adapt and adopt Venture’s general framework to ask people about the challenges and their visions for each and all: People - care, education, and wellness for all Place - our built and natural environment Play - our arts, culture, and recreation Purchase - our earning and spending power Public - essential services that benefit all Of course, these topic areas are intertwined as well as multifaceted. Venture was successful because it capitalized on these characteristics of community issues. Our first topical dialog, next Monday, March 23rd, at 5:30 PM, will address this “meta-issue” along with environmental conservation and education, how to appreciate our natural and historical assets. The focus will be on Moccasin Bend and the Tennessee River but the implications are much larger. The precursor to Venture, the Moccasin Bend Task Force, was all about Place but touched on every other area. Local business and civic leader Sally Robinson, who was a founding member of the Moccasin Bend Task Force and deeply involved with various aspects of Chattanooga Venture, will anchor the dialogue. Andy Wood, President & CEO of the Tennessee Aquarium, will address the significance of the river for our community, how the Aquarium addressed the issue of environmental conservation and education, and how it is engaging the community to continue that mission. The nature of Moccasin Bend as a culturally significant, historic site and its status as an addition to our local National Parks are primary concerns for National Park Partners, as is community engagement, which Tricia King Mims, Executive Director, will discuss with us. Please join us for this important dialogue and share with others who are interested in the topic! Register online to attend "Moccasin Bend, the River, Conservation, and Community Engagement” by clicking here. <https://luma.com/kieooku0> Do you have an issue you care about, a group you're working with to change our community for the better, or resources you feel could be better utilized? Let us know! Click here to fill out our online interest form <https://cloud.eduity.net/apps/forms/s/KbHkwnS9TtBcBb5fSNFoKmA8>. Let’s figure out how to find the best solutions “the Chattanooga Way”! — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521