Quarterly Update - January 2008

The ENVISION initiative began its second year on October 1, 2007. During the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2008, October - December 2007, the initiative has continued to move forward and address the key issues identified in the ENVISION Community Strategic Plan.                 

As the new year unfolds, all the volunteers involved in the four task forces, P-16+ Education, Grow the Economy, Effective Regionalism and Quality of Life, continue to show high energy and commitment to accomplishing their tasks and meeting on a regular basis to maintain a steady momentum respective to their issues. TheDothan Area Chamber of Commerce has also continued to align its Program of Work with the ENVISION goals. Listed below is a summary of each task force’s activities during the first quarter.




P-16+ Education Task Force
Chair - Robert Boyle, Michelin North America, Inc.

 

 

 

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GOAL:

Develop a quality, seamless P-16+ education structure for the Dothan City School System, Wallace Community College, Enterprise-Ozark Community College and Troy University Dothan that reflects special attention to workforce development.

Quarterly Update - January 2008:

The P-16+ Education Taskforce met three times during the first quarter and as reported previously, the Task Force had identified three projects for 2007-2008. Since the first identification of these three projects, two additional projects have been added: School Superintendent Needs and Benchmarking Other Systems. The Task Force has placed a strong focus on obtaining results in the five project areas. The project leaders are formulating their activities and identifying the areas where progress is needed.

Project #1:

Using the WorkKeys initiative as a center point: This project is being led by Mike Babb, Wallace Community College. The aim of the project is to assure that students are career ready as they leave their final place of education. Presently, the focus is on the relevance of the tool and that users are administering the tool correctly to get the best result for the student. There is a significant amount of teamwork required within the education community to achieve the required level of success.
Project #2: 

Sponsor an annual Arts Festival: This project is being jointly led by Roy Watford, Houston County Schools, and Susan Loftin, Dothan City Schools. An Arts Festival event is scheduled to take place in early April 2008 at the Dothan Civic Center. Presently, the group is working through the myriad of details to assure a successful event that will showcase many aspects of the arts taught in the schools.

Project #3:

Students-for-Students (S4S): Led by Dr. Barbara Alford, In Sight Solutions, LLC, the S4S results at Northside Methodist Academy are impressive. The success of the program at the Academy seems to be driven by a strong parent advocate. Dr. Alford is currently working to establish a parent advocate at each of the other schools that want to establish this program within their student body.
Project #4: Benchmarking other systems: Led by Morris Slingluff, Slingluff United Insurance, this project is presently focused on the successful organization Yes We Can in Mobile, AL. The project group is working to coordinate a visit from Yes We Can’s Caroline Ackers to meet with education stakeholders in our region.
Project #5: Superintendent needs: This project is being led by the P-16+ Education Task Force Chairman Bob Boyle. The project’s initial focus is on defining how an advisory group can work with the Dothan City School System’s superintendent and his team. This would help the School System better respond to the needs of businesses in the region.

 

 
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Grow the Economy Task Force
Chair - Dr. Barbara Alford, In Sight Solutions, LLC
   
GOAL:

Grow the Economy of Dothan and the Wiregrass region (City of Dothan, Houston, Geneva, Henry, Dale and Coffee counties).

Quarterly Update - January 2008:

The Grow the Economy Task Force worked during the first quarter to reconsider its role, scope and mission in light of the many related initiatives/activities that have begun or are ongoing in the Wiregrass region. It was important to Task Force members to identify activities that: 

  1. Aid the successful initiatives already underway;  
  1. Add value to the economic development directions of the area;  
  1. Identify activities that can have measurable, positive impacts without duplicating other projects; and  
  1. Make good use of the Task Force volunteers’ time and efforts.  

The group decided that the appropriate role for the Task Force in 2008 would be to foster communication, networking and information sharing across the various initiatives in progress. To that end, the Task Force will partner with other groups in the area to host three informational sessions during the first half of the new year. Two will be dedicated to economic activity nearby in the Florida panhandle (the Port of Panama City and the soon-to-be International Airport), and the third will center on the potential for the Aviation College in Ozark, AL. The Task Force will bring together individuals in the area with interests in these topics and will facilitate development of productive follow-up activities. The Task Force will also pursue one additional role in 2008 which is attempt to structure a process for long-term (20+ years) strategic planning across the Wiregrass’ communities.

 

 
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Effective Regionalism Task Force

 Chair – Michael D. Schmitz, Mike Schmitz Automotive Group
 
GOAL: Pursue effective regionalization (Wiregrass region, Southwest Georgia and Northwest Florida).

Quarterly Update - January 2008:

The Effective Regionalism Task Force continues to meet on a regular basis. During the first quarter of the new fiscal year, Task Force members: 

  • Met with Mike West, Dothan City Manager, to discuss a number of issues for the Task Force’s Public Policy Subcommittee, formally Public Safety Subcommittee, to consider (i.e., Regional Crime Stoppers, Citizens Police Academy, Neighborhood Watch, etc.); 
  • Met with Lt. Stacy Robinson, Dothan City Police Department, to discuss the Public Policy Subcommittee issues that challenge the region (i.e., communication, grant writing, technology, web connectivity, training, etc.); 
  • Planning a regional meeting, to include cities in North Florida, to discuss regional Public Policy Subcommittee issues with Alabama’s Attorney General Troy King as the primary speaker; 
  • Met with Robert Hendrix, Dothan Area Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director and Regional Tourism Committee chairman, to discuss how to encourage leadership in the region to collectively develop tourism for Southeast Alabama. A meeting is being planned to include individuals in the region who lead the tourism effort in their community and each county chairperson to discuss ways to promote and fund the tourism effort; and

  • Planning and coordinating press conferences and media coverage during the second quarter to announce and discuss the activities of the Effective Regionalism Task Force subcommittees.

 
 
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GOAL: Enhance Dothan and the Wiregrass region’s quality of life (City of Dothan, Houston, Henry, Dale, Geneva and Coffee counties).
   

Quarterly Update - January 2008:

The Quality of Life Task Force continues to meet every two weeks to continue its work in subcommittees to forge ahead with specific goals and objectives. The subcommittees and to-date specific action plans are summarized below.

Enhancing the Arts/Downtown Revitalization

  • Serving as an advocate for the arts in the public schools and support the recent announcement of instructors being added to the Dothan City School System for academic year 2007-08; 
  • Supporting a grant application to VH1’s Save the Music Foundation to provide musical instruments to public schools. The grant process will begin in March 2008 with grants awarded in the summer of 2008; 
  • Collaborating with Dothan City officials in interviewing candidates for the City’s Performing Arts Director. The process seeks to involve all local arts groups in the candidate search; and 
  • Working to reestablish a Performing Arts Board to work in collaboration with the Performing Arts Director of the city. Encouraging the construction of new performing arts center (long-range). 

Addressing the Needs of Senior Citizens 

  • Becoming an active partner with the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission in expanding much needed transportation services in the community (fixed route bus system); 
  • Encouraging a feasibility study to assess the development potential of a senior-citizen-specific residential community;  
  • Initiating and leading efforts to have Dothan officially designated as a “Senior Friendly Community”; 
  • Encouraging the continued support for the Senior Resource Center, established by Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging; and 
  • Encouraging the establishment of a fixed route transportation system for the City of Dothan. 

Neighborhood Restoration

 Areas of concern are housing, accountability within neighborhoods, homelessness, literacy, job training and teen awareness of drug issues, pregnancy, etc. 

  • Working to identify a list of community resources and providers; 
  • Conducting tours of communities in Districts1, 2 and part of 3 to identify a neighborhood, as well as the issues in the neighborhood; 
  • Working to develop a capacity building strategy and works for its implementation to better ensure sustainability;
  • Working with the Dothan Downtown Redevelopment Authority on collaborative efforts toward neighborhood restoration in areas surrounding the downtown business district; 
  • Developing a covenant of agreement to be used in neighborhood restoration efforts to stimulate resident involvement; 
  • Encouraging the establishment of a Neighborhood Authority to gain funding for and coordinate the restoration of identified neighborhoods; work would include house repair/renovation and/or building of new homes as well as job training; and

  • Working to establish a Skills Center to address job training, literacy training and other life skills.

 


Chamber Program of Work:

The Dothan Area Young Professionals held its official kick-off celebration recently. During the celebration, Tracy Knowles, DAYP Advisory Board chairman and partner in ParsonsGroup, LLC, formally announced the creation of the organization.  

As outlined in the Quarterly Update - September 2007, the initial groundwork for the group was started through the Dothan Area Chamber and the ENVISION initiative. The target audience is individuals between the ages of 21-41 that carry themselves in a professional manner and want to be more involved within their community. The idea behind the DAYP is to provide a situation where young professionals can come together to both improve themselves personally and professionally, as well as make a significant impact on the Dothan area.  

Over the past six months, a lot of work has been done to establish a 15-member Advisory Board and also to develop a foundation for which young professionals in the Dothan area could assemble. As part of the preliminary work completed, a mission statement was adopted to help identify the DAYP’s overall purpose and function - “Young professionals in the Dothan area impacting the community, providing professional development, building relationships and creating future leaders.” With the mission statement established and plans moving forward, the group hopes to serve as a vehicle for current and potential young professionals in the Dothan area to: 

  • Enhance their professional skills through a series of professional development workshops; 
  • Promote participation in philanthropic activities through a set series of community outreach programs; 
  • Network with existing young professionals through a series of social/networking opportunities; and 
  • Allow for the communication of community-wide events that impact young professionals through an interactive web site. 

The overall goal of the group is to strengthen a young professional community in the Dothan area that is energized, engaged and properly educated to help make the Dothan area the absolute best it can be. And with that goal identified, the DAYP was able to break down into three focused committees: 

  • Professional Development - helps young professionals achieve success in the community, their social lives and in the board room;  
  • Social / Networking - creates and arranges social events for members and to make them more aware of fun activities in the Wiregrass, to include social and cultural events; and 
  • Community Outreach - provides young professionals with opportunities to volunteer and make an impact in their community.

Over the next three months, these DAYP committees plan to hold special events respective to their tasks.

As all the activities identified above are being implemented, leaders and volunteers continue to come to the table prepared to "Create meaningful change in our community" in order "To grow the economy and grow the community."

Everyone in the community is a STAKEHOLDER in the ENVISION initiative, and to stay up-to-date on the activities, you are encouraged to visit the ENVISION web site, www.envisiondothan.com, as often as possible.