When I was the office manager of an eentsy weentsy semi-paralytic Chamber of Commerce a couple of years ago, I created out of whole cloth the “State of the County” dinner. Once a year, county legislators, business people, high school kids from the “Future Business Leaders of America”, and community organizers get together over dinner for an informal Q&A. I purposely kept the tone light, relaxed, and friendly, with as much laughter included in the proceedings as possible.
This simple mixer has led to myriad connections between people who formerly never had anything to do with one another. There are new scholarships available in the local high school, a farm-activist group has a greater connection with local businesses and townships, and the county legislators get to talk about the budget and get feedback from the regular people it affects. Oh, and the Chamber has a new Board, which hopefully is a mite less paralyzed.
Anybody can come up with ways to get people together, it doesn’t have to be a major catered event, and it doesn’t have to cost money. I also organized a potluck barbecue, and people didn’t have to pay a dime to schmooze and connect. I managed to get the world’s greatest cole slaw recipe from one of the region’s leading real estate mavens- who knew?
There are tons of other ways to knit these connections.
Remember that you and your ideas are valuable, and might just be the key to helping your community get itself together. Don’t be afraid to get out there and hook up with your neighbors, and simultaneously don’t think you have to fix everything yourself.
If you join an organization, take a little time to feel things out. It takes a bit of time for the people who’ve been in the trenches to get used to opinionated and persistent active new participants. Give them time to digest. Respect the work they’ve been trying to do while gently adding your own ideas. Your opinions and contributions may be ignored or jettisoned while you’re waiting for the organization to catch up- don’t take it personally, and re-present your ideas later on. Don’t allow issues of personality [especially control freaks] to reduce the level of discourse. Don’t underestimate the other contributors in the making of this stone soup you’ve decided to be part of.
If somebody “steals” your idea, good- the idea will be used and developed, and that’s the reason you’re there in the first place. That “State of the County” dinner I mentioned- which I came up with and which nobody did a lick of work for except me- suddenly became the Chamber’s yearly rite, and continued after I’d left the position. Well, hooray for that! A job well done- my concerns about community connectivity were addressed. I would have liked a medal, or a pat on the back, but that wasn’t why I did it.
Let them steal your ideas! You can always come up with more. On the other hand, if you get an idea from someone else, give credit where it’s due- gaining that person’s respect and solidarity is much more important than a one-off smalltime “intellectual property” theft. Being able to look people in the eye is priceless.
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