By: Susan Beauchamp
Were you one of the over 200 people who met together at the Neighborhood Gathering on September 25? If not, you missed a good meal and good communication between neighborhood residents at “Fine-Tuning Our Success.” Doors opened for registration at 5:00 pm at the Southeast Community Services Building at 901 Shelby Street and several people came early! Santorini, Gusto, and Deano’s Vino restaurants provided a delicious dinner. As we finished eating, we watched an oral history video: Churchman Avenue – Revival Road. This documentary was produced by students Wesley Walker and Karl Myers. Those interviewed were Bill and Maria Sparkman, Thelma Reed, Andrew Britt and Carol Bales. Jennifer Rice, GINI Coordinator, was the announcer. Mark Stewart, President of Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND) and Terri Garcia, Executive director of Southeast Community Services (SECS), welcomed us. Jim Mulholland asked all participants to submit the name a southeast leader or organization that has significantly assisted our neighborhood. Elaine Cates spoke about the accomplishments of the last year. At about 7:45 pm, residents were invited to choose a Break Out session to attend based on their interest in the goals of the Quality of Life Plan:
- Community Building/New Ideas
- Youth Programming
- Beautification/Infrastructure
- Housing
- Commercial Viability
- Workforce Development
In each session, the goals were discussed and a report was made on the progress of the past 6 months since the plan was adopted. Data, the numbers and stories that measure the progress toward the goals, was collected by the SELP, Southeast Learning Partnership. We stayed with these issues for about ½ hour and then moved to a second goal for additional discussion and comments on the past and the future. Participants reconvened for dessert provided by Deano’s Vino restaurant at 8:15 pm and filled out a questionnaire about the evening. One name was chosen at random to receive a gift certificate. We were happy to see many parents bring their children, and childcare was provided. Whether you are excited about positive change, or you wish there had been a greater impact, we hope you will be inspired to get involved in strengthening the community.
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