When I walked up to the sign-in table at my very first meeting of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Millennial Advisory Panel, the staff told me to pick the one topic I felt was the most important and that would determine which discussion group I would participate in.
I’m often affected by buyers’ remorse so choosing quickly was going to be difficult. Without wanting to clog the line, I grabbed the “Infrastructure” sticker and placed it on my nametag because infrastructure, surely, is the most important and the one everyone would choose. Without good infrastructure in place, no one can get anywhere.
As I started my first networking lap around the room, I noticed everyone I met seemed to have “Innovation” stickers on. Did I choose wrong? Was that the most important? Without a business environment that cultivates and encourages innovative companies, there will be no one here to use said infrastructure. So I wandered over and discreetly grabbed an Innovation sticker and tucked it away in case I changed my mind.
As I continued to mingle around the room, I realized I had chosen wrong. “Healthy, Livable Communities” was certainly the most important and the group I definitely wanted to be in. Without healthy, thriving communities with a good education system, there would be nowhere desirable to live for the people who work in the innovative companies and travel on this brilliant infrastructure. So once again I tried to be discreet and grabbed yet another sticker. But this time, I actually stuck it over my infrastructure one. So it was decided.
Then networking time was over and it was time for ARC Executive Director Doug Hooker and his board members to speak. After hearing from folks speak individually about all three topics, I realized what I knew all along. It’s what brought me here. It’s what makes me want to be a part of this committee. It’s that they’re all the most important! One without the other two mean nothing. Two without the third will get us, as a region, nowhere.
The point is, the Atlanta Regional Commission is on to something. They have taken a group of future leaders of our region and told them to discuss; ask questions; challenge everything. Expect big things to come from this group of new voices. And hopefully, we’ll get bigger nametags with room for more stickers.
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