What went well
I think for the most part it all went well. It was a large crowd that turned out nearly last minute. She schools had a session in that same room to find out about the I am Boundless site – they did not have as many people and they used the smaller breakout tables that were initially to be used here. I have also been to many school board meetings in that room – honestly, it is a horrible room. Much of the time we can not hear the Board while sitting in the visitor seats. I wish that the schools would commit to doing something about that room. The screens are horribly placed as well. Back to what went well – I think Jamie did a great job of corralling the rude behavior of some in the audience. I also appreciated seeing some of his staff trying to help the more technically challenged to get onto Mentimeter.
What could have gone better
I am not certain if we could have predicted how many of the older technically challenged community members that would show up, but some said that they would have brought pencils and paper had they known. An older gentleman sitting next to me was kind, but he clearly could not hear everything. He did not have a mobile phone at all. We possibly could have more clearly set up the narrative of the entire process so that those in the room clearly understood that this was just one step in the process. I may have missed that being mentioned in the beginning, but that might have helped. We should also explain what the evening was about, what would happen – again sorry if I missed that, but I was sitting there in the beginning, so if I missed it, I know others did as well. Also, if ever in that room again – get a hand held microphone.
Any general observations that you’d like to share?
I have been to many meetings here in Worthington and I was appalled at the rudeness and pre-determined negativity from some in the audience. I have not seen that in a public forum like this before. I thought that the Comp Plan team did a great job and the committee members did a wonderful job as well. I hope these naysayers and negative projectors don’t scare our younger committee members away. This is our Worthington – all of ours.
What went well
attendance was great. engagement in the mapping opportunity seemed good.
What could have gone better
the intro to the meeting was long and clunky. it was not very engaging. I actually found myself disengaging because of how long the intro and trivia took.
Any general observations that you’d like to share?
I think we need to think about if it’s possible to – and if so, how – to mitigate some of the skepticism many in the community have about the process. I think we need to be careful with the speaker series and who we choose to invite to present, and what that looks like. Otherwise, it may look like we are driving a certain perspective or agenda.
What went well
I thought the format was generally successful and that there was good energy from Jamie. I also liked the way that he politely, yet firmly, stifled the dissent of those vociferous naysayers in the group. The “Do You Know Worthington” questions – where people used the QR code (or website, I think – that wasn’t clear) – were interesting, especially the immediacy of the responses. However…
What could have gone better
…with such a significant group of people over the age of 65, I saw quite a few who were struggling to get/understand the QR code, specifically, and one “youngish” woman I was chatting with who had left her phone in the car; my battery was low, and several others I saw had no cell phones at all. I’m sure my little section of the auditorium was not unique. When we did our Age Friendly Worthington focus groups and surveys over the past several years, one resounding comment we heard was that we need to reach out to people in ways additional to technological ones. I would suggest that the list of questions could have been attached to the handout that we all got that night; and though I know it would have taken a little away from the spontaneity of the exercise, it might have made more people feel included. Or, at the time that the quiz started, those who didn’t have a phone, or couldn’t get the QR code, could’ve raised their hands and the questions would’ve been passed to them. Sometimes older people are embarrassed that they aren’t as technologically savvy as their younger neighbors and might hesitate to ask for additional help; so the suggestion to include the questions in everybody’s packet would hold a little more weight for me.
Any general observations that you’d like to share?
Of course you didn’t know how many people were going to be there, but going forward it might be better to have a larger venue.
Thanks for all your hard work and getting this off the ground. All in all, I thought it was a good start.