Hey Neighbors: What's Your Vision?

Mikaela posts:
As the Mayor rails against the youth that make up our future, here's a chance to envision together the community we want. What do you think of mail-in visioning? What's the difference between mail-in visioning and blogging-as-community-building? Hmmm... Thoughts to ponder.

August 11, 2006

Dear Neighborhood Association Leader [and/or Blog reader],

Albuquerque has a culturally rich history and citizenry as demonstrated during our Tricentennial Celebration activities and participation. Albuquerque’s vision, adopted in 1998, is “a thriving high desert community of distinctive cultures coming together to create a sustainable future.”

This vision honors the past yet looks to the future. As we look forward to the next 100 years, Mayor Martin J. Chavez and the Tricentennial Committee would like to involve all neighborhoods throughout the city in developing a set of values that carry forward the positive spirit of the celebrations. These values will serve as a guide in reaching toward our vision.

Values help us decide what we expect of ourselves and others. They can help us make decisions, establish boundaries and prioritize. Examples are “respect for one another, trust, responsibility, integrity, fairness, etc.” ...

The Tricentennial Committee would like neighborhood associations to provide your thoughts and suggestions as to the critical values necessary in our journey to realize the vision quoted above. Upon gathering ideas from a variety of sources, the committee will integrate and develop a short and focused list.

This community dialogue will take place during August. As a neighborhood leader, you have a key role to play. Please tell us:

• What do you most value about life in Albuquerque?
• What do you most value about the Tricentennial celebrations that have taken place over the last 18 months?
• Why are these values important to our community’s future?

Please submit your responses in writing by the end of August by e-mail to communityvalues@comcast.net. If you have questions or need more information, please call Signe Rich, Executive Director, Shared Vision at 266-1178.

Thank you for your time and energy in this process.

Jerry Geist, Executive Coordinator, Albuquerque Tricentennial
Michael DeWitte, Senior Manager, External Relations and Communications, Sandia National Laboratories