#create here

I have to say, the people I've reached out to in both Chattanooga, TN, and Paducah, KY (my next two stops), have been some of the nicest and most pleasant people I've ever encountered. They've been incredibly enthusiastic about my visit and more than helpful in connecting me with different groups I should talk to while I'm there.

I'll be visiting Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the end of this month (10/26 through 10/29). I was excited about the visit from the get-go, but the more I've been digging into it the more I'm falling in love with their passion for creating a more desirable community. I've been particularly intrigued by a few different groups (who are all connected) in the area: Stand, Shift, and Create Here. Stand is a regional visioning organization; similar to Vision 2020 here in northeast Indiana. What I absolutely love about this group (and was very impressed by) is the way they initially approached the formation of a vision for the Chattanooga area. They dispersed over 26,000 surveys in the area (a world record) with four simple (but loaded) questions:

What do you like about the Chattanooga region?

Imagine the best possible Chattanooga region. Describe it.

What challenges must be addressed?

What actions, big or small, can you take to help?

That last question is what really caught my attention; what can you do to help? This is exactly the type of approach I'd like to take through the Millennial 2020 program: have Millennials point out things they like, imagine the ideal northeast Indiana, identify challenges, and then get them thinking about what they can do to make it happen. There's tons of energy and potential housed in members of the Millennial generation this area; how do we harness that energy and focus (or "laser-beam," as I like to describe it) it into effective, productive, postivite, and sustainable change?

When I first came across the Create Here website, I was impressed right off the bat. A local Chattanoogan described the group to me as being an "incubator for community-minded projects," noting the Projects page on their website as a great resource to see what's been accomplished through their efforts. However, it was one tiny detail that caught my attention. This group was founded with the future in mind. They refer to it as their "supernova date" - on December 31, 2011, Create Here will no longer exist. This was planned from the start as a way to keep their energy, enthusiasm, and excitement for what they do at its maximum throughout their existence.