Home > Norcross.Talk > Archives > 2006 > April
April 2006
What little things can we do for Norcross?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like a lot of people, I’ve always been impressed with the little things in life. Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin taught us that the little things add up big. When she took office, she started small by promising to patch all the potholes in the Atlanta streets, even if she had to go out and do it herself.
Southwest Gwinnett would do well to follow that rule of thumb. There are plenty of things that leaders can do to organize the community that would make immediate impact with little or no funding.
As I wrote in a recent opinion piece for the Gwinnett News, efforts such as those through the Southwest Gwinnett Community Improvement District and Gwinnett County’s Operation Broken Windows, are attempting to breathe new life into our community and launch us into the future.
Those operations may have a good start, but they are not enough. And, they have a large problem to deal with if they cannot rally the community together and help it define its identity.
Gwinnett Village (aka Southwest Gwinnett Community Improvement District) has already done a great job of obtaining support of more than 500 business owners in the area, essentially creating a committee.
The next step, I hope would be to contact all the homeowners associations within the area and begin forming of a Gwinnett Village Homeowners Committee. This committee would elect one individual to serve on the Board of Directors for the Gwinnett Village. That is how they would begin to draw support from homeowners and add to their already impressive support from business owners.
Next step, communication, communication, communication. This is probably the easiest of all the steps. Once they have identified and established a relationship with their audience, they must keep their attention.
First thing they need to set up is an email newsletter, or a blog or both. A newsletter should go out at least once a month. A blog should be updated a minimum of once a week.
Once every quarter, the board of directors should meet with each committee separately. On the last Saturday of every quarter, there should be a town hall meeting of the entire community, citizens and business owners alike. This meeting would detail business matters, quarterly progress, and tasks yet to be completed by year’s end.
Then it’s time for more action and less talking. It’s time to actually have something to show for the effort.
The trash has to go. All across the area there are groups that have adopted either a highway, or stretch of road.
Churches, civic groups and Scouts have adopted roads in the past. Encourage them and others to do it now. Maybe even hold a contest to see who has managed to keep their adopted area in the best shape. Reward them. Name them in the newsletters. Maybe even a business owner in the area will step up to donate a prize.
Another option would be to encourage the courts to order clean-up penalties and other projects that the Gwinnett Village has targeted around the area for those convicted of minor crimes. Repaint the faded yellow and white lines on the streets. Fill pot holes. Paint street lights and other similar public structures. Pressure-wash the medians and sidewalks.
Add greenery and color. Engage the local gardening clubs (or organize them if they don’t exist) to spruce up some weed-ridden and unsightly areas with low-maintenance plants and flowers. There is a major home improvement retailer within the confines of Gwinnett Village, Maybe they would love to use this as a marketing opportunity in exchange for supplies. These are examples of the small things that combined can make an immediate impact.
More importantly, these are things the community can do together, allowing the Gwinnett Village to put more attention to the bigger issues the region faces. It allows citizens to actively participate in making a difference.
Hopefully that difference leads to the biggest needed change of all: Attitudes. All the cosmetic changes that are planned may be for nothing if we fail to change attitudes and instill a sense of pride.
Its time we all took some action and stepped up to the plate to make a difference.
What little things can and will you do for your community?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Woody Bass
Woody Bass
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Woody Bass is a “rabid Gator fan” who can be counted to be opinionated, and full of passion, wit and sarcasm.
Originally from Orlando, Fla., Woody and his crazy dog have called southwest Gwinnett home since 2004.
Some of his favorite pastimes include playing poker, watching cartoons and political talk shows, making his house a home, cooking (especially hot-‘n’-spicy cuisine), and annoying as many fans of “that team from Athens�? as possible.
Permalink | |
Norcross residents: What’s your name?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
People who live in Gwinnett are called Gwinnettians.
People who live in Atlanta are called Atlantans.
Mars residents are called Martians.
What should people from Norcross be called?
Norcrossians? Norcrossites? Norcrossagers?
Got any better ideas? Send them here and we’ll post them online.
Permalink | | Categories: Town Question
