Buttermilk & Molasses

The Crupi Report: Three Paths for Change

Ever since the Crupi Report was issued last November, I've been waiting for Richmond's corporate leadership's response to any of consultant Jim Crupi's observations on the state of leadership in Richmond, on Richmond's penchant for projects over strategies, and on the region's somewhat myopic view of itself.

Three initiatives-- two new, one emerging -- offer hope for those praying that a bolt of lightning will strike the TV-6 broadcast tower on Broad Street and provide the Richmond region with an epiphany.

• The creation of the Capital Region Collaborative may prove to be a faltering step in the right direction, though its potential still exceeds its early grasp. Established as a direct result of the Crupi Report, the 14-going-on-50 person advisory group [to which I was recently named] is supposed to give shape to a new vision for the nine-jurisdiction Capital region. Time will tell if the new organization will give life to a new way of engaging the community, or simply reinforce the same timeworn and tired views that have held the region back for too long.

But even more exciting than the official response to the Crupi Report have been the launch of several genuinely new initiatives that may dramatically shift Richmond's game.

• The launch of a new Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan, despite its drolly predictable name, is rife with possibility. Bringing together individuals and organizations across the artistic and cultural realms of Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover is a bit like herding giant catfish (sluggish, squirmy and a bit unnerving), but for the first time in my memory there are dozens of people representing the region's cultural space having a conversation about the future. Even if the plan sucks (which shouldn't be the case if the consultants at WolfBrown earn their keep), the initiation of new conversations in the cultural community is monumental.

• The world of Connect Richmond, which exists under the umbrella of The Community Foundation of Richmond, is one of those almost-invisible forces that radiates everywhere without leaving much of a visible mark. Starting with a simple series of listserv email groups that keep the region's non-profit organizations connected, Connect Richmond is on its way to creating an entirely new space for community leaders to learn, share and organize for a future far different from our past.

In a recent conversation, a friend described Richmond's many communities -- business and corporate, political, social, cultural, spiritual -- as being as distinct from each other as most countries. Creating connections that span the boundaries between these different communities -- that mix them up in new, unusual and disconcerting ways -- is one way for the Richmond region to kick-start change.

Books on Wheels on Webs, Around Town

Our friends at Books on Wheels, those altruistic yahoos who drive around the city and the East Coast in their bus packed with bikes, books and spare parts -- looking for kids in need of a good read or a dose of speed -- have a new website up-and-running. It's at booksonwheels.com, of all places.

And they're gearing up for a crazy summer, to boot. Books on Wheels is set to take part in the August 9 Art 180-sponsored Festival for Jonny Z (outside of Joe's Inn on Shields Avenue from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9); to take the lead on "Speaking with Spokes," a Books on Wheels benefit ride around the city on August 1; and be part of two community events -- the Headstart Health Fair on Tuesday, July 29, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at 2924 Brook Road and a visit to Pathways in Petersburg on Friday, July 18, at 9:00 a.m.

Power, Community and Change

An email from Jason Roop, the editor of Style Weekly, landed in my mailbox tonight. That and a few thoughtful comments about power, community and neighborhood building set me to thinking about my recent post on Style's annual Power List, which is set to be revised in next week's publication.

If I were to applaud one thing Style does exceptionally well, it would be their annual lists -- most notably the Power List, the Top Forty Under 40 and The Arts 25 lists that essentially introduce the Richmond community to some of the more interesting, essential or (Dare I say it?) powerful people in town. Each takes a different slice, and each provides a different window into what is important in this town of ours.

But in this area of corporate responsibility and increased focus on knitting some new order in the fabric of our community, I'm most curious about people who are doing something significant and sustainable to change the conversations we have in Richmond, change the way we have conversations, create new intersections within our community or use elements of "soft power" -- relationships, influence, empathy -- to strengthen our neighborhoods.

WRIR and RVABlogs, for instance, have each created an entirely new way for Richmonders to both share their stories/music/perspective and to hear stories/music/perspectives they never before could access. The dozen-plus independent neighborhood websites sitting behind RVANews have given voice to distinct communities. The Camel and Gallery 5 and Plant Zero have created new spaces for our community to gather, and each has worked to push the edges of their space beyond the traditional, or functional, use.

Of the nine-plus community markets in town, I would point to the Byrd House Market and South of the James Market as being the two that have most dramatically created something new for their neighborhoods -- and fundamentally added to what it means or feels like to live in Oregon Hill and Westover Hills. Look at how the pretty random relocation of Victory Farms from Arizona to Hanover County has coincided with some important social trends to raise the game for organic and locally-grown food in Richmond -- or how Amy Hicks or Ellwood-Thompson or (going way back) Grace Place introduced Richmond to the game in the first place.

Homeward and the Better Housing Coalition have changed how we think about the issues of housing -- and the significance of the lack of housing -- in our community. They've both, incidentally, taken creative approaches to this -- approaches that have significantly shifted the way we talk about and tackle the issue.

Connect Richmond has moved from being a listserv of announcements and notices to being an influential channel that drives information and connection across the non-profit community -- and increasingly connects that community to the broader Richmond community.

All of this in no way is pushed out there as an attempt to diminish or ignore the reality that there are 30 or 60 or 200 individuals in the Richmond region who have a significant level of influence -- usually, but not always, a reflection of economic power or political power or position power. These are the folks, as Jason Roop noted in his email, whose support matters in the race for Mayor, or who will implement the Downtown Master Plan, or whose financial contributions have made the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts one of the best state museums in the country, or whose presence on a non-profit board helps transform a non-profit organization.

Sure, control of resources -- financial, organizational, political -- matter and are an unavoidable, maybe even desirable at some level, outcomes of the human condition.

But in a democracy, conversations and connections -- in service to community -- also matter. And in a nation that is simultaneously more connected electronically or more anonymous personlly, hyper-local conversations and connections matter, too.

When I look at trends developing in the worlds where I engage most often -- leadership, culture, community -- there are strong indications of an inevitable shift happening. The shift involves a recalibration of how communities engage, and how they define themselves. It involves the reemergence of local, of personal and of community in our shared lexicon.

In my work with leadership development, I try to help people recognize that our tendency is to talk about what we know without thinking about what matters. When we talk about what matters -- to us, to those around us -- we create the conditions for stronger teams, stronger families, stronger communities. And when we are able to link what matters to an aspirational vision of a new or different future, change happens. Let's talk about it.

Smart Communities on the Citizen Solution

Suzanne Morse, president of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, posts a few thoughts on a new book, The Citizen Solution, over at her weblog, Smart Communities. I like to glance at Suzanne's weblog every now and again because she posts brief thoughts on important topics, and usually leads me to new information. Here are her thoughts on Harry Boyte's new book:

In one part of the book he talks about three civic skills to break the silence in our society: 1) face-to-face interviews; 2) mapping power and interests; and 3) holding house meetings. He gives tips and strategies to do all three and why they are important. We never do any of this anymore and it shows in our civic culture. Too many of us barely talk about politics let alone involve ourselves.

I like the idea of face-to-face interviews, and have always wondered why more weblogs don't feature in-person interviews on news or cultural issues. Of course, I've always wondered why more weblogs aren't generating millions of dollars in revenue for their fat cat publishers.

The Crupi Report: Ready, Set, Collaborate

When strategic consultant Jim Crupi issued his second report on the Richmond region last November, he noted that the Richmond community was pretty good at talking and planning.

Crupi also pointed out that when it came to a strong, compelling regional vision the region was asleep at the wheel. And speaking of asleep, Crupi pointed out that not only was the collective regional leadership getting older, but that there was virtually no bench of young community leaders waiting in the wings.

None that Crupi saw, anyway.

Enter the Capital Region Collaborative, a new nine jurisdiction wide effort to create a vision for Central Virginia, reports the Times-Dispatch:

A group of area government and business leaders is announcing today the names of people it thinks can shape a bold idea: creating a vision for central Virginia that might actually be put in place.

After years of studies, plans and publicly floated initiatives, the two sources of many of those ideas joined forces in May to create the Capital Region Collaborative. The group includes members from the government-based Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and the business-led Greater Richmond Chamber.

The CRC today is naming the members of its first advisory team. The eight government and six business leaders will ultimately be joined by 40 or so others on a team charged with shaping a workable vision for the area's future.

And now for a moment of transparency -- when I am not gnashing my teeth as a member of Richmond's civic-minded weblog community, I am apparently a business leader.

In my role as Leadership Development Team Leader at Luck Stone, where I work with a group of folks focused on championing our business culture and core values among 1,000 employees, I have been named to the Capital Region Collaborative's advisory team.

A few years ago, one of my mentors told me that I needed to "choose between being a committed corporate player and an avant-garde freelance consultant." First, I ignored his advice. Then I tried to alternate between the two. Finally, I realized that what I really needed to be was myself -- which is a little of both simultaneously.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be active in trying to bring a different perspective to the CRC -- and in trying to bring more diverse and unique voices to a conversation about Richmond's future.

Talking and planning are important components of good visioning work. So is action.

Having decision-makers at the table is important. Diversity and inclusion are important, too.

I hope to bring new ideas, and a challenging perspective on what it means to create a shared vision for a region as diverse as Central Virginia.

It's going to be an interesting ride. I'm pretty sure you guys will let me know if I screw it up.

Arts Collaborative: A Plan, A Plan, My Studio for A Plan!

Today, a group of representatives from the region's arts, cultural, government and business communities gathered to learn more about another plan -- the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan. If there's something this town knows how to do well, it is plan.

It took Thomas Jefferson 17 days to write the Declaration of Independence, and two days of debate for the Second Continental Congress to ratify the document. Richmond's proposed Downtown Plan has been in the works for a bit less than a year -- and goes to the city's planning commission for a vote in July.

But there's a sense of urgency around the Cultural Action Plan, which optimistically hopes to deliver a final report to the arts and cultural community in about nine months.

Bill Martin with the Richmond History Center (or the Valentine Museum to you old-timers) kicked the Cultural Action Plan discussion off this afternoon at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond (that's the Hand Workshop to anyone who's been asleep for five years).

"My first reaction six months ago when there was an informal conversation with some people in this room ... was we need a plan," Martin said. "My second thought was, 'Oh my God! Not another plan! Haven't we planned enough?'"

But because there is so much going on in the realm of arts and culture across the region, Martin said, it is important to spend some focused energy to "build on what is happening."

What is happening, he said, is impressive when you look back a decade. There have been significant expansions on the museum front at Maymont, the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, the Visual Arts Center and the Children's Museum. The performing arts community has new significant spaces in play -- including the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen and downtown's under construction Performing Arts Center. The visual arts have reclaimed neighborhoods like Manchester, Broad Street and Main Street. And Henrico and Chesterfield counties have established cultural hubs emerging.

"We're approaching a half billion dollars in investments in our cultural community," Martin told the crowd. "Now is a good moment to take a deep breath and ask how we can do this better ... how we can create a model that is sustainable and can support what we've built."

The Cultural Action Plan, Martin suggested, is a step in that direction.

According to a FAQ distributed at the meeting, the Cultural Action Plan "will create a collective vision for the area's cultural sector and will identify strategies to increase participation and financial support for arts and culture. It will focus initially on the City of Richmond, and the counties of Chesterfield and Henrico.

Marc Goldring from the consulting firm of WolfBrown -- who will facilitate the planning process for the arts and culture community -- explained the ways a cultural plan can be a catalyst for the region.

"One way is by highlighting facilities and cultural districts," Goldring said. "For example, Dallas has made a huge investment in an arts district, and Mesa, Arizona, had no downtown so they created a center of interest around the arts."

A cultural plan can also focus energy around education -- "preparing youth for a future in the 21st century economy," he said -- or use cultural assets to build the region as a tourist destination, al la Charleston and its Spoleto Festival.

"Another way the arts are used is to assist communities in branding or rebranding themselves," Goldring noted, citing Columbus, Ohio, and St. Louis as examples. Another avenue -- creating synergies between the cultural and academic communities as has been done between Yale and the New Haven community, or Duke University and Durham, North Carolina.

"Other communities have focused on their individual artists by creating welcoming spaces," he added, pointing at the privately led retrofitting of old Boston warehouses as live/work/create spaces for individual artists.

"Clearly, part of this is about building the resource base and communities have done this in a variety of ways," he said. Some build private entities to focus the arts community, while others create special tax districts.

Goldring pointed to Cleveland -- "after 10 years and two failed attempts it has passed a levy on cigarettes" to fund the arts. Now there's an idea to float in Richmond.

More interestingly is the example of Denver, which not only has a large private fund supporting the cultural community but "has a microloan program funded by the city ... to fund small, entreprenurial businesses."

"This is Richmond's opportunity to look at what exists already, and to think about what should exist in 10 or 15 years," Goldring concluded.

The process behind the Cultural Arts Plan starts in earnest this summer and continues through the end of 2008. Goldring said the goal is to deliver a final plan during the first quarter of 2009. The process will include:

• Research and data collection, including inventories of existing programs and organization, will happen this summer.
• Focus groups with cultural organizations, individual artists and members of the broader community are slated to take place in August.
• A cultural census will be conducted regionally in September.
• A draft report will be distributed in the November/December timeframe.

To get engaged -- or stay up-to-date -- with the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan, go to Connect Richmond and click on the "Cultural Plan" group. (Which is apparently not yet active.)

[Update, 1 July: To join the Cultural Action Plan listserv and receive regular email updates on the process, here's the link to the Cultural Action Plan listserv sign-up at Connect Richmond.]

Arts Organizations of the Town Unite...

Tired of charrettes and downtown plans? The mayoral race got you down? Just not feeling hip to the slow creep of change in this town?

Go rock out the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan Task Force during their June 30 initial planning phase stakeholder meeting for cultural organizations. (Ain't that a mouthful?) This meeting is primarily for professional art organizations (Hipsters, keep out!) with a promise of additional meetings focused exclusively on artists. There are even rumors that a charrette-like process is in the works. (Feel misled by the opening paragraph yet?)

The June 30 meeting is designed for area cultural organizations to get information on the planning process, learn how to get engaged in the task force, and share and discuss issues. It all happens from 4:00 until 5:30 on Monday, June 30, at the Visual Arts Center (Hand Workshop, ye olde school caricature artists and weavers) on West Main Street. Marc Goldring of WolfBrown will present and facilitate the discussion. The task force asks that interested participants RSVP with their name and organization before June 26 by emailing Jackie Mancini at jackiemancini@visarts.org.

What is this plan? It's a collaborative effort between the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence and the Cultural Action Plan Task Force (a coalition of stakeholders comprised of members of Richmond’s cultural, local government and corporate communities) to create a plan with recommendations for prioritization and strategies to support funding, sustainability and awareness for the Richmond region’s arts and cultural community. (Breath, people, breath.)

Here's how our friend Christina Newton, director of Curated Culture and founder of First Fridays, calls it:

As a member of the Cultural Action Plan Task Force, I wanted to inform you about the work that's developing on a very exciting project and ask that you help us get the word out to the arts community ... IMHO, this is probably the most important effort to advance the region's cultural community ... We're hoping to get the word out to professional arts groups since this first meeting is focused on connecting with the professional cultural community.

Please be assured that this won't be the last opportunity for the public to get involved though. Work on this effort will take place over the summer and continue into the new year and include various methods of surveying and various community meetings held (much like the Downtown Master Plan charette process) (with certain meetings devoted solely to connecting with artists!)

It Takes a Manager to Make a Market

As new farmer's markets cover the regional landscape like a blanket of kudzu, some folks involved with Richmond's original market are looking to land a new manager. An online petition is pushing for a new manager for the 17th Street Farmers Market:

The 17th Street Farmers Market is one of the oldest markets in America and is located in an area seeing terrific urban renewal, yet it continues to struggle. The greatest contributing factor to this is the lack of quality management. The previous year's management might at best be called apathetic and at worst, disastrous. At present, no manager is in place, leaving assistant manager Linette Bond to do the work of two or more people in operating, restoring and growing the farmers market.

The upward trend of Shockoe Bottom and the surrounding area can provide 17th Street Farmers Market with the opportunity to succeed along with it, but only if it is strong, well attended and well managed. It is to this end that Scott Sibley presents himself for consideration for the position of Market Manager.

I recently contacted one of the vendors supporting Sibley to find out what made him a viable candidate for market manager. She kindly passed along Sibley's own words, an email he sent making his case:

I am writing to request your support in reaching my goal of attaining the position of the 17th Street Farmers Market Manager. Near the end of the 2007 market season, I had the opportunity to meet with many vendors and neighbors of the market. You, the community have shown a true passion for the success of the market. I share that passion with you all!

Being a resident of North 17th Street, I have an unmatched interest in the success of the market. I look out my window every morning and imagine how wonderful the market would be if it were bustling with visitors from the city and surrounding area. Through history the market was a place to buy, sell, and socialize. This ever important block has sat dormant long enough. Its time for a change! This historic Richmond market is one of the oldest markets in the nation, dating prior to 1737. Through history it has seen great success offering trade of every sort. The market’s historical significance is never ending.
Being born and raised in Louisa County, Virginia, I know how important the local farmer is to his community. Prior work with 4H, FFA, Virginia Tech Corporative Extension, and spending summers working on farms in the area has given me complete understanding of that important relationship. Combine this upbringing with over ten years experience in event management, marketing and fund raising in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, along with support of current staff and the community, we can bring a promising future to the market.”

Recently I took on the role of Chairman of the Richmond Farmers Market Advancement Association. This not for profit business is designed to supplement the fund raising efforts of the 17th Street Market and has hopes of reaching out to all the markets in the future.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please email me directly at richmondfmaa@gmail.com

The Downtown Plan: Moving Forward on Monday

Tomorrow at 1:30, the Richmond Planning Commission is expected to move a revised draft of Richmond's Downtown Plan off of their desk and into the hands of Richmond City Council. There will be time during tomorrow's session for the public to speak on the proposed plan and the proposed revisions.

The good news for supporters of the plan is that if the planning commission gives the Downtown Plan document an affirmative vote, it would take six votes in City Council to override it. And during what it likely to be a contentuous political summer in Richmond, the odds of a majority of council getting in the way of a popular vision is slim to none.

If you're interested in speaking, carve some time out of your busy schedule on Monday, May 19. The planning commission meets at 1:30 p.m. in the 5th Floor Conference Room of City Hall. Sign up to speak when you arrive, and then deliver the best three minutes of your viewpoint.

You can also email your thoughts on the plan to members of the planning commission, or to members of Richmond City Council. The folks at Envision Richmond have gathered all of those emails together:

Planning Commissioner Emails:

BMills@comarchs.com; BevLacy@comcast.net; Sheila.Hill-Christian@richmondgov.com; Michael.jackson2@richmondgov.com;; Kathy.Graziano@richmondgov.com; WHutchins@tcva.com; CWray@BCWH.com; Rodney@thewiltonco.com; BAbernathy@live.com; lawmanchem@yahoo.com; Joe.Lerch@RichmondGov.com

City Council Member Emails:

Bill.Pantele@RichmondGov.com; Delores.McQuinn@RichmondGov.com; Bruce.Tyler@RichmondGov.com; Chris.Hilbert@RichmondGov.com; Kathy.Graziano@RichmondGov.com; Marty.Jewell@RichmondGov.com; Ellen.Robertson@RichmondGov.com; Reva.Trammell@RichmondGov.com; Doug.Conner@RichmondGov.com

Another Conversation Richmond Needs To Have

On the heels of a highly successful, collaborative process to develop a new Downtown Plan for Richmond and the highly critical report on the Richmond region's ability to work together for a shared vision, there are more opportunities for different conversations that engage our broader community around a new future.

Over at Smart Communities, Suzanne Morse points us to the work of one community -- Cedar Rapids, Iowa. What I particularly like about Cedar Rapids' Fifteen in Five initiative is that it addresses one of the most fundamental issues that a broad spectrum of any community ought to be discussing -- what kind of place do we want our community to be?

This type of discussion is similar to the conversations generated by Richmond's Downtown Plan process, but go beyond the planning aspect to chase aspirations. Cedar Rapids not only decided it wanted to pursue light rail, it wants to launch a best-in-the-nation early childhood eduction program.

As the Chamber of Commerce-initiated Capital Region Collaborative takes shape, I wonder if they will take the typical Richmond approach -- develop initiatives based on what those at the table already know -- or if the new organization will lead with a sense of genuine curiosity and help the Richmond region's residents craft a vision for tomorrow.