Archway Partnership Hosts Community Vision Follow-Up Meetings for Volunteers

In October, the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Executive Committee rolled out a community vision at a public forum at Dalton High School.  The vision, called "Communit-E3:  A vision for the future of Dalton-Whitfield County," focuses on three critical areas:  education, the economy, and the environment (encompassing quality of life issues).  At the community vision roll out, attendees had the opportunity to sign up to volunteer in the area that interested them the most. 

In November, members of the Archway Partnership Executive and Steering Committees hosted follow up meetings in each of the three main areas for the volunteers.  A recap of those meetings is provided below: 

Economy Follow Up Meeting

On November 16, 2010, approximately 35 community volunteers met at Dalton Utilities to learn more about the community vision as it relates to the economy. Elyse Cochran, Executive Director of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority and Archway Partnership Executive Committee member, opened the meeting and provided the community volunteers with an overview of economic development in Whitfield County. With this background, she then gave a brief overview of the three main economy goals the community vision addresses. Those goals include supporting and sustaining local industries, diversifying the local economic base, and nurturing entrepreneurs and innovators. Participants were then given the opportunity to join an issue work group focused on one of the three primary goals. Each work group was headed by an Archway Partnership Executive Committee member. During the issue work group sessions, attendees had an opportunity to learn about and comment on the proposed 2011 action plans for the goals. At the conclusion of the meeting, the work group chairs reported on the items discussed and preliminary plans for 2011.

Education Follow Up Meeting

On November 16, 2010, 60 community volunteers met at Dalton State College to discuss the community vision for education in Dalton-Whitfield. Dr. Sandra Stone from Dalton State College opened the meeting with a discussion and video about the challenge of educating students in a rapidly changing world. Tangela Johnson, Archway Partnership Steering Committee member, then gave an overview of the primary goals in the education portion of the community vision. She noted that the overarching idea is to begin to connect the dots in the education continuum so that the community can address weaknesses and capitalize on strengths. As a step towards this big idea, the participants were asked to join breakout groups based on their area of interest: birth-pre-kindergarten; kindergarten through high school; and higher education/technical education. During these breakout sessions, participants had the opportunity to brainstorm about the strengths and weaknesses in each of these areas. At the end of the session, participants reassembled as a large group and reported out on what their groups discussed. Hallie Mansfield, Archway Partnership Young Professional Steering Committee member, concluded the session and noted that the next meeting will be held in January 2011.

Environment Follow Up Meeting

On November 18, 35 community volunteers interested in quality of life issues met at Dalton State College to learn about the big ideas and opportunities for involvement in this area. William Bronson, Dalton Daily Citizen publisher and Archway Executive Committee member, opened this meeting and gave an overview of what the Executive Committee is attempting to accomplish as it relates to quality of life. Members of the Archway Partnership Executive Committee then provided a more specific overview of each of the 5 primary goals in this area. Those goals include: (1) creating a vibrant downtown; (2) developing a progressive transportation infrastructure; (3) expanding the greenways, blueways, parks, and trails; (4) turning Dalton into an inviting interstate destination; and (5) providing transformative arts and cultural opportunities. Following these overviews, participants had the opportunity to join an issue work group and make plans for progress in 2011.