 He noted that he wanted this movement to progress from talk to
action, and in one month he wanted them to be able to check off what
they have done.Doolin's comments then segued into a discussion
about smart goals. Moderator Michael Gowin said the group needed to
set smart goals that are measurable, attainable, relevant and
time-bound.
Gowin said the action to take place should be identified, and
then the progress documented to show how it is moving along. The
goals chosen should be reasonable and attainable goals. He said each
goal should have a timeline of sorts that outlines when the goal
should be achieved.
Patrick Doolin also commented that what the group is talking
about is a master project that will never be completed; it will
always be changing and evolving into another step.
Jeanette Harris said one project she would like to get involved
in would be a collaboration of all public service agencies, where
multiple agencies could meet and share resources and information.
Aaron Cantrell said he would volunteer to work with her on that
project.
April Doolin said she would post a comment on the Facebook page
asking people to list their action item from tonight. She asked the
group to be proactive in posting to the page, letting the public
know what is being worked on and encouraging others to join in.
Another member of the group said there needed to be something
that addressed the youth and young adults in the community. She said
there are lots of young people wandering about aimlessly because
there isn't much for them to do in Lincoln.
Patrick Doolin said this had come up at the last meeting, and it
was Craig Lindvahl who said that no matter what town you live in,
the kids of that town are going to say there is nothing there for
them to do.
This moved the group into talking about education and retention.
Andi Hake, director of the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, said
the chamber does have a college outreach program and scholarship
programs. She said she didn't know how many other organizations in
town have scholarship programs for the local colleges.
[to top of second column] |
Robert Bagby talked about the Lincoln High School Foundation
and said it has given out $72,000 in local scholarships. He said
the high school partners with Lincoln College to give kids an
opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. The
high school also offers a vocational program and is working on a
partnership with Heartland College to get vocational students
enrolled there to finish their associate degree. He said LCHS
also has its own alternative school and will soon graduate the
100th student from the alternative school.
Also on hand was next year's president of the Lincoln Jaycees.
Tom Hackett said that while the Jaycees have been in Lincoln for 60
years, they are currently one of the lesser known organizations in
town. However, he said one of his goals this coming year is to
correct that and bring more attention to the organization.
He told the group that Jaycees is a youth-oriented program for
young business people. He wants to increase involvement of those
young professionals, and he wants to do more in the community to
help local youth. He encouraged those in the room to offer comments
and suggestions and to get involved with the Jaycees.
At the end of the night, Gowin had a list of projects that will
be the first priorities of the We Are Lincoln group. He asked if the
group could get together in a month and talk about the list and what
has been accomplished. After a few moments of discussion, the group
came up with a tentative date of Jan. 9 for the next meeting. The
date and time will be confirmed on the Facebook page.
The Facebook page for We Are Lincoln can be found by pasting the
following URL into your browser:
https://www.facebook.com/wearelincolnillinois.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
'We Are Lincoln'
 |
