Planning effort gets underway

About 120 people sat down Tuesday night to build a vision for Jay County's future.

Three weeks from now, when the group gathers again, it may be twice as big.

"Bring a friend next time," said Doug Inman, co-chair of the Jay County Visioning and Strategic Planning Initiating Committee.

Dubbed 20/20 Vision, the strategic planning process is being facilitated by Derek Okubo, senior vice president of the National Civic League, with financial support from United Way of Jay County, The Portland Foundation, and local units of government.

Inman said the effort grew from the foundation's discussions with nationally-recognized community development specialist Vaughn Grisham.

"He challenged this community to be strategic in thinking about its future," Inman said Tuesday evening.

"We have a tremendous opportunity to make history for Jay County," said Okubo.

Okubo said the emphasis will be on finding commonalities and building consensus.

Issues raised Tuesday ranged from concerns about the strength of families, economic development, education, the environment, infrastructure, leadership, and the relationship between agriculture and the broader community.

Further issues are expected to be raised by participants in future sessions.

The next meeting is set for 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at West Jay Middle School.

Okubo initiated a discussion Tuesday about what the community will be like in 20 years and where the "desired future" could be.

"We will not tolerate this just sitting on a shelf," said Okubo. "We've got to do something with it."[[In-content Ad]]