Garland's Office of Neighborhood Vitality has released information about its annual Leadership Conference. I believe this is the sixth year of the conference.

The guest speaker for the conference will be Jim Diers, who will also be in Dallas on Aug 25 for the Dallas Homeowners League Neighborhood Leader Boot Camp. This week's Garland Homeowners Coalition will be taking a group of Garland neighborhood leaders to the camp. If you see yourself as a neighborhood leader or someone interested in the vitality of your neighborhood, attend the GHC meeting and mark the camp and summit on your calendar! I recently posted information about the GHC meeting and the boot camp here.

City of Garland Press Release:

Garland Announces Plans for 2007 Neighborhood Summit

Garland, Texas – The City of Garland’s Office of Neighborhood Vitality will host its annual Neighborhood Summit on October 27, 2007. The theme for this year’s event is "Built to Last." As Garland nears buildout, ensuring the health and sustainability of neighborhoods is a high priority. What all healthy neighborhoods have in common are residents who connect through shared commitment and shared responsibility. Building social capital is as important as protecting the physical environment of neighborhoods.

 

"Last year, the Summit kicked off the City’s new Strategy for Vital Neighborhoods. This year we want to share what we’ve learned during this first year of the Strategy and offer Summit attendees the chance to dig deeper into some of those issues," says Felisa Conner, the City’s Neighborhood Vitality Manager. "We hope to provide participants with insight and tools in building neighborhoods that last."

 

The Summit will offer workshops on several topics including managing change in diverse neighborhoods, community policing as a neighborhood management tool, goal setting for neighborhoods and more. Noted neighborhood developer and advocate Jim Diers from Seattle, Washington, will present a workshop titled “Neighbor Power”. Diers will share real-life examples of how neighborhoods have worked together to develop community-driven plans and neighborhood self-help projects. He will offer practical applications and invaluable lessons for ordinary, caring neighbors who want to make a difference. It also provides government officials with inspiring stories and proven programs to help them embrace neighborhood activists as true partners.

 

"Mr. Diers has shared his experiences with audiences all over the world," says Ms. Conner. "We’re very excited about the opportunity to share the lessons he has learned with Garland neighborhood leaders."

 

The Neighborhood Summit will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Atrium at the Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth Street in Downtown Garland. The Summit is open to the public. Early registration costs $15. After October 1, 2007, the cost increases to $20. The registration deadline is October 19, 2007.

 

To register or for more information, call 972-205-3864, log onto the City’s website at www.ci.garland.tx.us, or email fconner@ci.garland.tx.us.

 

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