To the Greater Findlay Community,

Over the past year and a half, more than 500 community volunteers have embarked on an important journey to establish a cohesive visioning plan for the Findlay community. Seven topic committees spent more than a year looking at important issues that affect our quality of life: education, governance, spirit of community, recreation and cultural opportunities, health care and social services, business development and infrastructure systems.

In May 2005, the topic committees were invited to share their work, and two public forums were held to solicit community input. Since that time, the leadership team has met regularly to review committee recommendations and begin prioritizing goals and projects. With the help of the Urban Affairs Center from The University of Toledo, we are moving closer to a visioning plan that reflects the needs of our community and the desire to leave a legacy of GREATNESS for future generations.

This entire process has been an incredible learning experience. Our team has experienced setbacks, engaged in lively discussions and even had minor disagreements. But in the end, we believe we will deliver a cohesive vision worthy of community support. Through this process, we will put into place the necessary pieces to ensure future generations have the opportunity to live and raise their families in this outstanding community!

We invite you to join members of the leadership team on Monday, January 23 at 7 p.m. as we review the community’s visioning plan at a public session at Winebrenner Auditorium on the campus of The University of Findlay. Community members can also follow our progress by visiting our website at www.hancocklegacy.com.

We are very aware that the real work begins after the community embraces the visioning plan. It will take a concerted effort to move these prioritized projects from conception to completion! The leadership team is committed to seeing this plan through, but the success of our community will rely on our residents’ willingness to get involved with the identified projects and help move them forward! If you have questions or comments about the visioning process, please feel free to visit the questions/comments section of the website or call 419/424-7117.

Sincerely,

The Visioning Leadership Team

Dr. DeBow Freed
Bill Conlisk
Carleton Palmer
Frank Guglielmi
David Spahr
Tony Iriti
Rachel Rader
Tim Brugeman
Scott Malaney
Barbara Deerhake
Rod Winkle
Andy Peters
Carol Welch
Riad Yammine

Findlay's Visioning Process Deserves Our Support!
Why should area citizens be supportive of this vision?

Today, this vision process consists of a group of over 350 individuals, coordinated by fifteen people serving as the steering committee. All represent a broad base of both city and county perspectives. The steering committee will serve as consultants to seven topic committees, who are headed up by topic leaders. Topic committees include: Arts & Culture/Parks & Recreation, Business Development, Community Issues, Education, Government, Health & Social Services and Infrastructure.

Recommendations will be submitted by topic committees to the steering committee for review and evaluation in order to develop an action plan. This final “vision” will be introduced to the community explaining how to get from a “current state” to a “future state.”

With that process will be community-wide input and further ideas. As with many worthwhile endeavors, potential roadblocks are sure to occur. But with the help of area citizens, we are confident in developing a guide for future progress. All of us are “Legacy Builders at Work” with the hope that our efforts will benefit not only us, but future generations.

We invite all area citizens to become stakeholders in this process. Information on future meetings can be found at this website on the Calendar of Events page. Or you may contact us using the Comments/Questions page. After additional suggestions the steering committee will adjust the “vision” for implementation in August, 2005.