Corn
Hill Speaks March 1996
Hope of the Day: One-id( e)a
County by Helena Douglas
A
Vision of one Community, One People, One Economy With
One Future.
On
March 7, the Partnership for Human Development (PHD)
held a dynamic and power-packed conference with
recurrent themes of renewed hope, re-connection with
the underprivileged and a view of the end of the tunnel.
This renewed energy and spirit was delivered by many
movers and shakers in our area.
Charles
Betterton, a brilliant individual with a multitude of
successful accomplishments, expertly facilitated the
conference captivating attendees with finesse and
fortitude. Betterton's leadership, was evidenced
moments after he took the podium, when he asked the
audience what the MVCC initials on the podium stood
for. When everyone assuredly replied, "Mohawk-
Valley Community College", Betterton replied, N0, it does not. It stands for,
Maximizing Vision Collaboratively Creates
Community. The conference was a
non-stop synergized and dynamic meeting from
that moment on.
Following
a welcome by Michael Shafer, President of MVCC, Sister
Rose Vincent, Chief Executive Officer at St. Elizabeth
Hospital opened the conference by reviewing the
objectives of the PHD area-wide committee. She
promoted the value of the resource and user
friendliness of CRIS, the
Community Resource Information System, which is
sponsored by the Provider Task Force of the PHD.
Sister Rose Vincent
spoke about Vision and how it should be driven by Hope
and Goodwill for change. She cited recent news of the
the proposed 1997 Federal Budget. it's anticipated
shortage of $3 billion, the impact it will have on services and how can we
revitalize urban centers. Sister Vincent ended her
remarks by
saying that the HOPE of The
Day was ONE-ID(E)A County's Vision.
Currently running for
State Senate candidacy, Raymond Meier, Oneida County
Executive, added a rather subtle humor to his
remarks. He applauded the program
directives, of CAP (Child
Assistance Program). which uitlizes welfare
dollars to empower and enable single parents, mostly
mothers, to work. He was emphatic about Home·
ownership being one of the most basic and sound
economic developmental thrusts needed to help those on welfare become part of
the ONE-ID(E)A County Vision".
Meier stated that the
history of charity has shown a pronounced
transformation in that present day charity lacks the
personal involvement needed to reconnect the poor with
the total picture, (generic charity). Instead
we need to accept and involve the poor as part of the
greater vision. Meier also mildly reprimanded agencies
and organizations not to stray outside of their
organizations' mission statements and
objectives in the face of adversity or in order
to compete with shrinking resources. Rather, find a
collaborative and co-creative way to compete and
cooperate to continue providing needed services.
He reiterated the
concept of Utica being strong in local government,
that Utica is regional in nature and we should,
“share the burden of economic development as well as
tax breaks". Meier had much more to say which he
sprinkled with the wisdom of humor, but expressed
concern regarding our lack of consensus on policies concerning
budget cuts, and the need to consolidate government
services.
One last issue that
was relevant to Meier’s remarks was, that the people
that Oneida County serves are
customers and these
customers should be empowered to make valid decisions
about available services being provided, and how they
can best benefit their individual lives.
Everything
said was inevitably brought back to illuminate
the working concept of
the ONE-ID(E)A COUNTY:
A VISION OF COMMUNITY;
ONE PEOPLE. ONE ECONOMY, ONE FUTURE.
Betterton excited the
audience into finding working resolutions to the
problems such as the lack of shared community vision,
the need for more positive attitudes. as well as a
need for action, 'Which the group consensually found to
be the major obstacles that needed to be overcome. Mr.
Betterton, introduced the
group to a method of brainstorm called The Three
Round
Method of Brain-Storming. The
results were astounding in
that everyone collaborated, and critiqued each others
thoughts, opinions and feelings regarding the problems
at hand Whenever the group got stalled, Betterton was
there to stimulate and tax brain centers to the
optimum.
Groups eventually arrived at
the following consensus on positive steps that could
be taken to manifest the Vision for a better Oneida
County.
(1). Continue to carry
out and promote the community visioning and strategic
planning process, providing maximum
opportunities for residents, elected officials,
business and other organizations to enroll in
the Vision and
participate in the implementation process.
(2). Follow up and
demonstrate significance of the Visioning process
through successful, practical application of input,
identifying and taking action on specific
implementation projects.
(3). Provide ongoing
programs and resources that foster positive attitudes,
community unity and cooperation, community
pride. appreciation
0f the wealth of our
community assets, appreciation of
multicultural diversity and personal, organizational and
community empowerment.
Mr. Betterton, as one of those exceptional
resources, who coined the phrase, ONE-ID(E)A COUNTY: A VISION OF COMMUNITY, ONE PEOPLE, ONE ECONOMY
WITH ONE FUTURE. inspired all who attended to leave the conference with not only
Hope For the Day, but Hope For The Future of Oneida
County.
|