Inquiring minds want to know
This week's column:
So many questions, so little time ...
The 225 local leaders and citizens who attended the One Guilford leadership symposium May 16 at High Point University obviously had a lot on their minds.
When invited to submit written questions during a panel discussion, they responded with a torrent of hand-scribbled queries and comments.
Unfortunately, the clock ran out long before the questions did.
But with an eye toward follow-up discussions (and there will be follow-ups), we've saved every precious slip of paper.
What some of them said follows below as food for future thought:
1. Greensboro has developed a Greensboro strategic plan that did not include High Point. High Point has developed a work force development plan that does not include Greensboro. Wouldn't it make more sense if these efforts were done jointly at the county level?
2. Why should we stop our visioning process at the county line? A merger of Forsyth and Guilford counties would move us forward as a stronger competitor statewide, nationally and internationally.
3. To High Point Mayor Becky Smothers: What is your position on merging the three law enforcement departments in the county?
4. To GTCC President Don Cameron: What do you think about (Guilford County Schools Superintendent) Terry Grier's idea to start an aviation academy? (For the record, Cameron says he fully supports the proposal.)
5. What can our community do to make housing more affordable to Guilford residents, recognizing that incomes for necessary jobs are lower but housing costs keep going up?
6. What can be done to create a better understanding for more presence and monetary support of the cultural arts in Guilford County?
7. What can be done to help first-time felons obtain employment so that they will not become repeaters? Our shelters are filled with them.
8. How do we encourage those individuals and/or groups that are on the grass-roots level to work together and participate in moving our county forward -- moving away from recycling the same folks with the same ideas, on committees?
10. The "Piedmont Triad" name doesn't have a strong identity. Is it time for a name change? Large cities don't end their names in "ville" or "boro." As radical as it may seem, should we consider becoming "Greenpoint"?
11. Does Guilford County have a racial problem?
12. The people care about wages. What can we do to improve per capita income?
13. Looking around (the symposium) I see a lot of middle-aged professionals. How do we get the "young" people to come, to stay and to get involved in Guilford County?
14. There are a number of small companies that have provided support services for large manufacturers that either have moved their production overseas or shut down altogether. These small companies have no voice and are not receiving any guidance on ways to survive. Does Guilford County need to be more proactive in contacting and helping these people?
15. How do we begin the process to bring together the various communities, most specifically those communities without the means and resources to attend a meeting such as this?
16. How do we better leverage the Furniture Market -- one of the county's major assets and its window to the world?
17. What role should religious institutions and their clergy play in promoting a better Guilford County? Are they not a tremendous unharnessed resource?
18. How do we build a leadership vision for Guilford County? Where do we start? What steps do we need to take?
That last question was the main thrust of One Guilford -- to get the discussion started. Now it's critical to keep moving forward. This week, we'll begin preliminary planning for a follow-up that drills deeper into key issues and ultimately (we hope) leads to a common vision.
Stay tuned.
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