,Too Preserving the Legacy of 2000-2003 Future Search Conference Follow-up March 31, 2001

Drawing by township resident Joan Cummings   On March 31, 2001, about 65 residents assembled to participate in the second Future Search Conference.  The graphic at the left is a symbolic interpretation of how one of the work groups viewed the town in the year 2010.  More results will be posted here as the Working Groups prepare their action plans and minutes.

The Mayor's invitation to residents.

"Coming Together as a Community - My Town, Your Town, Our Town"   March 7, 2001 Dear Long Hill Township Resident: The Long Hill Township Committee will host a one day follow-up meeting to the March, 1999 Future Search Conference on March 31 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Long Hill Township Community Center.  All Long Hill Township residents are invited and encouraged to attend.  As in 1999, this event will be co-hosted by Friends of Long Hill Township. Many of you attended the Future Search Conference in March 1999.  Some of the positive results of the conference include the progress on the Senior Citizens Center, purchase of more open space, and the creation of a new Town Hall and expanded recreation facilities. Some of what the conference attendees wanted to happen, such as a more open and timely township website, happened in different ways than attendees had intended - but the result was the same. Much of the benefit of the conference happened more quietly, in ways that echoed a major theme of the Conference: that all members of the township, from all communities and including elected officials and the public at large, learn how to work together in a spirit of communication and collaboration.  That same spirit is the impetus for this one-day meeting. The March 31, 2001 session will focus on working together on issues that still confront us.  These issues range from re-vitalizing downtown Stirling, developing more passive and active recreation for all age groups, charting the future for Valley Road, to meeting the financial and resource challenges (such as volunteer emergency services) that confront us now. This year we are asking past attendees to invite a friend. Our goal this time is 200 participants.  If you plan to attend, please return the response card by March 23.  You may also register online. I look forward to seeing you at the conference. Sincerely yours, Walter Sadowski Mayor

As a matter of historical interest, we have preserved a copy of the website that was built for the 1999 Future Search.  Thanks to Gary Pratt.