Brownstown

Community Retreat and Dinner

6:30 – 9:00 pm

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Brownstown Central High School Cafeteria

Agenda

6:30 pm Buffet Supper

7:00 pm Welcome, Opening Comments

• Embarking on a planning process to determine future of Brownstown
• Steering Committee Members (refer to invitation in their folder)
• Introduce BBC
• Review Planning Process and Purpose of Retreat

7:10 pm Where are we now? Facilitator/participants

• Task – Conduct a Community Assessment
• Each table has a flip chart, markers and index cards and needs to designate a recorder/reporter. Following the process below ……
• Individually - with no discussion - write your answers on an index card
• Moving around the table, each person shares one of their answers that has not already been given by someone else
• Recorder lists everything on flip chart
• Continue around the table until everyone’s list has been covered
• Post clearly written list on wall with other groups lists

To answer 4 questions:

• Identify community strengths: what makes Brownstown a good place to live, work and run a business?
• Identify community weaknesses: what makes it difficult/less appealing to live, work and run a business in Brownstown?
• Identify opportunities: what opportunities exist to build your community/grow and expand the local economy?
• Identify challenges: what stands in the way of maintaining current strengths and maximizing identified opportunities?

7:50 pm Where do we want to be – what’s your vision of the future? Facilitator/participants

• Definition of vision
• Task – Describe the Ideal Brownstown of the Future

“Look 15-20 years into the future. You have created the ideal community for people to live, grow, learn, play, work or run a business…..how would you describe this community to a stranger?

• Individually - with no discussion - write on an index card the words/phrases that describe your community
• Moving around the table, each person shares one word/phrase that has not already been shared
• Recorder lists everything on flip chart
• Continue around the table until everyone’s list has been covered
• Consolidate similar ideas – create a final list

8:20 pm Group Reports

• Each group will be asked to share their list
• Facilitators will record and group

8:45 pm Prioritization of Ideas

• Every participant has (5) voting dots – each will distribute their ‘votes’ as they choose i.e. one vote on (5) different items, all on one item or any combination in between

8:50 pm Review overarching themes Facilitators

8:55pm Next Steps Facilitators

• Retreat Report (to all if e-mail provided)
• Meet with Steering Committee to organize next steps

9:00 pm Adjourn