Vision 2030 is a chamber initiative that seeks to determine where Gainesville and Hall County should be 25 years down the road.
The meetings are the first phase of the program. The second phase, beginning in January, includes strategic planning and drafting of recommendations to achieve vision goals, with the vision plan to be ready by next June.
Consultant Otis White, President of Civic Strategies, who is conducting the study, said earlier this year it will be a "very intensive, citizen-driven" process, which has proven successful elsewhere because it involves input from such a wide range of people.
"We're going to work hard to get hundreds of citizens involved in describing the community they want to live, work and play in."
White says it will focus first on what people in the community are looking for, not what some expert may think is best.
"We begin with the citizens and they describe what they want and then we ask (them) and the experts to come together to figure out how to get there," he said.
White said going to the experts first often leads to findings that sit on a shelf in the corner of an office and gather dust, with no action ever taken. In many of those cases, he said, "there is no genuine public support for many of their ideas."
Vision 2030 Executive Director Denise Deal said the initial goal is to get at least 100 people to attend each of the meetings.
"The more people we have involved in this process, the more we have canvassed this community to find out what's truly on the minds of the citizens," Deal said.
Deal added that 100 participants per meeting is the minimum; she hopes many more will attend the visioning sessions.
The rest of the schedule for community meetings (each beginning at 6:45 and ending at 9:00):
Thursday Oct. 27 Flowery Branch High School
Tuesday Nov. 1 Georgia Mountains Center
Thursday Nov. 3 East Hall High School
Tuesday Nov. 8 Gainesville State College
Thursday Nov. 10 North Hall High School
Saturday Nov. 12 Gainesville-Hall County Community Center
Tuesday Nov. 15 Chestnut Mountain Community Church
Thursday Nov. 17 Chestatee High School
Sunday Nov. 20 St. Michael Catholic Church
Thursday Dec. 1 West hall High School
To participate in one of more of the meetings, call Deal, 770-532-6206, ext. 104, or email: [email protected].
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/10/123290