Earlier this year, the City of Thomasville launched an initiative aimed at building collaborative relationships with the community through open dialog. Interim City Manager Chris White and Assistant City Manager Sheryl Sealy recently hosted two events, “Coffee & Conversations” on April 5 and “Let’s Discuss City Business” on May 7, both of which provided citizens with an open forum to ask questions and gain insight into city operations and projects. Because both events were so well received, additional events have been scheduled, allowing citizens to continue these important conversations.
“Both of these community engagement events have been extremely valuable to us as we plan for our community’s future,” said White. "Having opportunities that allow us to listen to the community's comments and concerns is crucial. These are the types of conversations that help us to understand whether we are meeting the expectations of our citizens and our customers. With this type of feedback, we can be sure that our operations align with the goals of our community.”
White said that the conversations fostered at these events are helpful as City leadership works to prioritize the needs of Thomasville's citizens. “It is very encouraging to find that our citizens value these conversations as much as we do. That gives us the feedback we need to know this is an initiative we’d like to continue.”
Three additional events have been scheduled to do just that, with the next opportunity for citizens to participate in the discussion at another "Coffee & Conversations" event set for Friday, June 7 from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at the Thomas County Public Library, located at 201 N. Madison Street. Sealy agrees that these events are beneficial to the City’s future operations, which is why this initiative has been expanded with an aim at continuing the valuable conversations that were started at the previous events.
“A strong community is really built on collaborative relationships between city leadership and the citizens we serve,” Sealy said. “By having more opportunities to gather together to hear the concerns of our customers and our community, we are building the elements of a strong partnership.”
Both White and Sealy remarked that the conversations fostered at these events often allow for misconceptions to be addressed so that there is a clearer understanding of the work of the City. “It has been extremely valuable to have an opportunity to explain why we do things the way we do or why certain decisions are made, which can help clear up misunderstandings and misinformation,” said Sealy. White added, “We’ve also found initiatives that allow for open conversations are vital when we find occasions when perhaps we miss the mark and fail to meet the expectations of our community. Coming together and having meaningful conversation is really the foundation of how we build trust, which ultimately strengthens our community.”
Coffee & Conversations and Let’s Discuss events are free and open to the public. There is no set agenda for each event; rather the conversation is based on the concerns of those in attendance. The additional scheduled dates include the following:
· Coffee & Conversations: Thursday, August 15, 9:30 am - 11:00 am at the Municipal Building, 144 E. Jackson Street
· Let’s Discuss City Business: Tuesday, September 17, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm at the Municipal Building, 144 E. Jackson Street
"The community is providing great feedback and interest in continuing these events, and we were encouraged to have so much interest in keeping the conversation going," said White. "The more community engagement taking place, the more Thomasville builds a bond with everyone to unite common goals and execute ways to make our city an even better place to live."
For more information, contact Tara Pearson at 229-227-4015 or visit Thomasville.org.