Report to the Board of Directors
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First Quarter 2008
 First Quarter 2008 ReportFile Size: 40K |
Our first quarter has been a period of transition and regrouping for the foundation. We are still winding down, dealing with loose ends, and focusing on meaningful outcomes and applications from our most ambitious project to date: our "We the People" AmericaSpeaks 21st Century Town Meeting held in November.
We worked with Fran Ellers who prepared the town meeting final report. We convened two meetings of town meeting participants, attracting 150 people for each meeting. We coordinated the meetings and activities of five new work groups that have been established to implement the priorities identified from each town meeting deliberation period. We established an Executive Committee, Leadership Council and, with the Executive Committee, interviewed candidates and hired an executive director.
We were invited to a Washington DC conference of community development officials to "share the story" of our town meeting. We were asked to share the town meeting results with the Downtown Development Corporation, Daviess County Fiscal Court and GRASP (as it related to city-county merger) and the noon Rotary Club. We coordinated a pilot program for an ongoing "We the People" program on OCTV Channel 51.
Several town meeting priorities have gained momentum and a strong sense of community acceptance. Among these:
- The people want a "green" community: expanded recycling, closer scrutiny on coal-fired power plants, more innovation and leadership in renewable energy alternatives.
- The people are ready to transform our downtown and riverfront.
- The people want a government for the 21st century that is open, transparent, effective, efficient and fair.
Family grantmaking will expand significantly in 2008. Sally Wood has assumed a part- time position to examine community needs, identify prospective grant recipients and administer a proposal solicitation-review process.
Beverly Mills retired on March 14 and Liz Seibert resigned in February and relocated to Winchester where her husband accepted a position. At this point, we do not plan to fill these positions.
Shelly Nichols, the "We the People" Executive Director, will begin April 7th.
Second Quarter 2008
| Second Quarter 2008 Report File Size: 68K |
Our second quarter activities underscored the value we place on implementing the priorities from the “We the People” 21st Century Town Meeting. John’s continuing generosity enables us to manage the action phase: we hired and are coaching executive director Shelly Nichols; we developed a “We the People” Initiative executive committee and leadership council; we developed organizational documents and statement of principles; we established and supported five new citizen groups
- Education and Learning Committee
- Region of Opportunity Team (ROOT)
- Environmental Impact Council (EIC)
- Healthy and Caring Community
- Citizens for Good Government (CGG)
The downtown master plan – also supported generously by John – is one of our community’s most ambitious undertakings and a top priority of town meeting participants. The initiative gained visibility and momentum this quarter when a consulting team commenced its efforts. The consultants are mindful of the importance this community places on public participation in the plan.
“We the People” Initiative group leaders have been challenged to define principles and practices that transcend open meetings-open records laws and reflect an open and transparent way of doing things. Citizens for Good Government plan to propose that local elected and appointed officials adopt such principles – surely a first anywhere in Kentucky, perhaps anywhere in the nation.
The EIC has charged ahead with a goal of convincing local officials to establish a curbside recycling service – the top priority of the town meeting.
Some groups are not as active or have more challenging, complex objectives. All are held together by determined leaders. Full group quarterly meetings are well-attended, and the town meeting database has grown to more than a thousand people.
If we can sustain the momentum, energy and participation, if groups continue to attract solid citizens and base their proposals on well-researched rationale, the “We the People” Initiative can and will grow in stature and be a stronger force to be reckoned with and lift citizen participation to an expected place in all important community decisions.