What are you doing next Tuesday? How about spending some time with me at Ursinus College? My friend and colleague, James Johnson, has put together an outstanding lineup for our Community Investment Conference being held in Olin Hall at Ursinus on Tuesday, October 20^th. Subtitled, It Takes a Village to Raise a Village, the conference is the place for local leaders, non-profit staff members, members of businesses and government to exchange information, ideas, and build alliances. The day is packed full of informative breakout sessions on topics such as leadership, fundraising, building community wealth, effective boards and committees, community projects for youth and adults, and techniques for getting community members more involved.

Download the full conference brochure here:  http://sunconsult.net/files/CICBrochure.pdf

I’ll be there to kickoff the morning with a little networking activity, followed by a plenary session. Over lunch, James has a diverse group assembled, promising a lively and informative panel discussion.

Whether you can join us next Tuesday or not, here are a couple of questions for consideration:

1. What talents, gifts, and passion do you have to offer your community?
2. What impact might you make (or are already making) on your community?
3. What three wishes do you have for your community?

My answers are:

1. Passion for and skilled at bringing people together to engage in important conversations. Passion for the planet, our health, and how the two are interconnected.
2. My greatest impact currently seems to be in opening lines of communication and getting projects started. A need will present itself and I’ll get a phone call to come in, help get the spark ignited, teach skills to fan the flames (i.e.: bring the people together for a conversation or two, help them develop ideas and action plans, create the structure for the plans to be implemented and evaluated), and then I’m moving on to the next place/group.
3. 1) more emerging leaders; 2) more people choosing to support local businesses and local farmers; 3) greater health through better choices, especially for our children

Please post your responses and comments below.