Marie Mott published a wonderful article <https://bladechattanooga.com/p/how-we-heal-chattanooga-s-divides> (of course, I’m a bit biased) about what we’re working on in the Study Group in The Blade. She has some great insights and the fragmentation in our community, and she boils it down to a fundamental question that no one is asking: “What do you want?” This is a powerful question because can be applied to some object like increasing incomes or supporting small business. And it leads right to the question, “what can you do?” Asking these questions in a structured, methodical manner is a powerful way to surface ideas and resources, identify gaps and overlaps, and establish shared vision. It is the core practice of community venturing. One thing she overstated though is that the method to answer such questions was lost. It’s not. We still have it. We’ve just forgotten about it and stopped using it. Coincidentally, I just published a blog post on this very topic, "Applying Lessons from Venture <https://www.eduity.net/blog/2026-06/applying-lessons-chattanooga-venture>.” As Marie points out, answering these question "takes connectedness and intention.” Yes! That’s where this group comes in! For community venturing need: Conveners to pick a general topic — People, Play, Place, Prosper, or Public — and invite 8 to 12 people to participate. Facilitators that have gone through at least the basic orientation for the method/process. Spaces to meet and go through the process. Basically this needs to be a semi-private meeting room with a space/table large for a dozen people and a video screen. Tools for capturing and ranking inputs (we’re basically going to use a spreadsheet but can develop or find more sophisticated ones) Where might we find spaces? Bars, churches, hotels, offices, restaurants, etc.? Who is willing to convene a confab or two? The goal is to keep them easy and informal. Who might like to facilitate confabs? More on the Facilitator Bank program soon! These will be topics for our next regular study group meeting at noon on July 7. You can participate online or in-person. RSVP via Luma or just add the attached ICS file to your calendar. You can also add the Chattanooga Venturing calendar to your calendar via this link <https://user.fm/calendar/v1-83081a307383246a321e7c50d7d58f5d/Chattanooga%20V...>. PS: Are you concerned about our dependence on Big Tech and don’t want get giant corporations controlling your tech? Or are you just interested in digital technology and want better, cheaper, more flexible options? Come out for Free Your Tech! on Friday, July 3rd, 3:00 - 6:00 PM, Hutton & Smith, 431 E M L King. There will be demos of free open source software, help to install Linux on your devices, a tech swap, and more! Free and open to the public! You can RSVP to participate <https://luma.com/tiv9etao> or just show up. Flier attached.  — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521