We had a very good discussion about the kickoff event during the CVSG regular meeting today. My takeaway is that we all feel really good about the event itself and the method/process but feel it needs to be more inclusive. Lisa, could you please share the text you received from one of the facilitators? I think it expressed this very well.
Kate will share notes from the regular meeting and outputs of the kickoff meeting in the near future. In the meantime, key items from the regular meeting are:
The first dialogue on Monday, February 23, at 5:30 PM (doors open at 5:00), featuring former mayor Ron Littlefield, will focus on citizen/community engagement.
Please help promote this! I’ll send an email about it in the next week when we have participants nailed down. Registration is live at https://luma.com/cz0hwuhv. Attendees have the option of a free ticket, a “pay what you want” ticket with $10 suggested, and a $20 “benefactor ticket.
Mayor Kelly is not available so we are looking for others to participate in the dialogue. Kevin Roig a senior member of his team or RPA leader who was involved with OneChattanooga plan to participate.
Two other two dialogues are in the works:
Conservation, Moccasin Bend Task Force, and, the river will be our topic on March 23rd, with Sally Robinson. I’m reaching out to Tricia King Mims with National Park Partners and Tennessee Aquarium staff to dialogue with her.
Housing affordability and quality, co-produced by CNE, will be our topic for April 27. We need to identify individual(s) from Venture to anchor the dialogue. I plan to as Bob Corker for his recommendation.
We now have two committees:
Event planning, chaired by Pat Smith and supported by Kate Rudder, will take the lead on planning the dialogue series. Kate, Pat, I’ll assist with that but hope to hand that off to you after the first dialogue. My general guidance is that we should (a) address issues that we on Venture’s agenda, (b) feature Venture legacy organizations, and (c) focus on what to do now for the future.
Goals and objectives, chaired by Steve O’Neil, supported by me. I believe Anca is also willing to help with this. My general thought is that we should focus on outreach, participation, and support objectives.
Possibly our biggest issue is getting financial support for the program. I’ve been covering costs out of my pocket, which I frankly can’t afford to do. Kate and Philip have been doing serious work pro bono. We really need resources for outreach to diversify and expand participation.
Kate and I will be engaging the foundations and developing a sponsorship program. I sincerely believe we have a strong value proposition and a sustainable business model.
Please let me know of any resources or suggestions for how we might generate support.
Thanks for your interest and involvement. More soon!
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Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521