[Vision-l] Vision Action and Implementation Open House

[Imagine Columbia’s Future]

Dear Visioning Partners -
Please see the following release regarding the July 30 Vision Action
and Implementation Open House.
Please "drop in" at the ARC anytime between 4 - 8 p.m.
Your participation is important as we move visioning along.
Thank you,
Renee Graham
Vision Outreach Coordinator

 
******************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2008

								
Public Communications Officer
Contact: Renee
Graham								
(573)874-7316


Vision Action and Implementation Open House scheduled for July 30 

(COLUMBIA, MO)  -- As visioning moves forward over the coming months, a
Vision Action and Implementation Open House is planned for Wednesday,
July 30, at the Activity & Recreation Center (ARC), 1701 West Ash
Street. The open house from 4 - 8 p.m. is designed to accommodate
“drop in” participants.
	
According to City Manager Bill Watkins, visioning revealed a collective
desire for Columbia to be a connected, informed, engaged community.
“The vision report already guides city decision-making,” said
Watkins. “Now, we need to reconnect with visioning participants and
the public-at-large, have them review  the draft implementation report,
gather input on a visioning commission and seek community-wide effort
support for turning vision goals into actions.” 

The open house offers immediate feedback opportunities through onsite
electronic surveys, conversation stations and intermittent presentations
as follows:
	“Vision Management and Oversight Entity”
  	  First presentation from 4:15 - 4:45 p.m.; repeated at 6:15 -
6:45 p.m.  

Vision Action and Implementation Open House scheduled for July 30, page
2
	“Initial Visioning Implementation Plan”
  	  First presentation from 5:15 - 5:45 p.m.; repeated at 7:15 -
7:45 p.m.  

The event focuses on the completion of two of the implementation tasks
included in the final plan as approved by the visioning committee in
December 2007 and accepted by the City Council on Feb. 4, 2008. 

In April 2008, Sarah Read, president of The Communications Center Inc.,
was contracted to serve as the city’s visioning implementation
consultant. Read, a former visioning committee member and citizen topic
group facilitator, consulted with members of the City Council, former
sponsor’s council and visioning committee throughout April and May.
Based on their feedback, Read presented a preliminary report on
visioning 
implementation at the June City Council retreat.  

Following the July 30 open house, a visioning celebration is
tentatively planned to coincide with Twilight Festival on Thursday,
Sept. 4, at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts. This will be a
community-wide event that celebrates current visioning efforts with
music and entertainment, invites public engagement and stimulates
conversations about where to go from here. It is also an opportunity to
present new ideas for community-wide collaboration and to identify the
public-private partnerships needed to tackle some of the more complex
vision goals.

For more information on visioning, including the opportunity to sign up
to receive Vision updates by email, please visit www.GoColumbiaMo.com,
or call (573) 874-7316.

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