Latino Greenville

Classes started this week at Furman and I shifted to a part-time internship with Greenville Forward so I apologize for the time since my last post. A lot has happened since I last wrote but the thing I most want to share with you just happened in the last five minutes.

Yesterday was the inaugural event of our Momentum Series that we launched after months of planning and visioning. I was sad that I could not go to see the fruit of our labors myself (I was in class) but I heard that it went well and inspired thoughts of what "green" living is really like.

Anyway, our next Momentum series event is focusing on the challenges and opportunities of the Latino community in Greenville...that has grown 750% since 1990. I was sitting at my desk, outlining the press release announcing the event, when we had a knock on the door of our Greenville Forward home.

Liza, our new marketing/PR/event planning guru and official task master, answered the door. Right there on our front stoop was a Latino man working to repair the leaky roof we discovered we had amidst the tropical rainfall that was this week. I heard some mumbling and then Liza said that she didn't speak Spanish and could not help the gentleman.

How interesting, I thought to myself, as I was literally writing down the word "challenges of the Hispanic community" on my jot sheet. Having taken an upper-level Spanish course last spring, my skills were a bit more brushed up than usual and I was able to figure out what our guest needed and help him out.

After he left, I began to think about what his daily life must be like. Having traveled to Mexico and Nicaragua on mission trips, I can remember struggling with the basics and that I never veered from the present tense in all of my conversations. But, I was only there for 10 days each visit and had translators around during the important times when we were traveling or finding food.

The daily challenges of being a Latino in Greenville with few English-speaking skills must be frightening with the additional stigmas that are sadly associated with immigrants today. So, I am looking forward to having Adela Mendoza speak at our next Momentum Series event. I think there is little understanding of the Latino community that has become such a vital part of the Greenville world and this conversation will hopefully be the beginning of many.

My Boy, Matthew...

I woke up Saturday morning very tired. I mean exhausted. I had spent Friday night running around the stage at The Warehouse Theatre, slamming doors, climbing into chests, repelling down fire escapes and basically sweating off pounds by the second, during our opening night of “The Three Cuckolds.” So, needless to say, when my alarm went off on Saturday morning at 7:30AM, I was not ready to jump out of bed. I hit snooze a couple of times, before I finally poured myself out of bed and hopped into the shower.

I say all this, because I need to explain why I was late. I was late for “Opening Doors to Success Day” at Greenville High School. “Opening Doors to Success” is a program of Graduate Greenville, an organization in our community dedicated to increasing the graduation rate in Greenville County and providing every student with the opportunity to learn. “Opening Doors” is just one piece of the entire organization where community citizens meet on the first Saturday after the school year starts and knock on doors of those students that decided not to come back. This is an effort to show them that the community cares about them and desperately wants them to succeed. I participated in this program last year and it was wonderful. So, I was happy to do it again this year.

But, I wasn’t prepared to be so worn out on Saturday morning. So, the program started at 9. Everyone gathers at the school (Greer, Greenville and Berea were the participating schools this year) and has breakfast and organizes themselves into teams. So, I show up at 9:25. I immediately have people coming up to me saying, “Oh, there you are Brock. We were wondering if you were going to show up”. Russell even came up to me and asked if I owned a watch. I could tell he was joking, but nonetheless.

Well, I found my team and we got organized. Now, remember when I said before how tired I was? Well, that exhaustion immediately dissipated when I met my team. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a very energetic, enthusiastic and successful team. Stephanie, Denise and Meg were ready to roll when I got there. They had already determined that we were going to bring everyone back to school. There was never a question in their minds as to whether or not we would succeed. I tell you, if I had people like these three ladies around me all day, I would be one productive, positive person.

So, we set out on our quest. Our first house was over toward Berea, near the San Souci area. We pulled up and noticed that there was not a car in the driveway. I immediately felt like this was going to be a no answer situation, due to my experience the year prior. But, the girls hopped out of the car, ready to convince someone to come back to school. We knocked on the door. No answer. We knocked again. No answer. We went around to the side of the house and knocked. No answer. So, I went up to the door to hang a door hanger with information about the program on the door, when we saw someone peek out of the curtain. Well, with new life, we began to knock again.

Now, let me tell you, we were all dressed the same. We had matching t-shirts and khaki pants. I mean, we looked like a back to school singing group. So, this is what they saw when they peeked out. 4 energetic people dressed the same, smiling and asking if they could see a boy named Matthew, a 17 year old 9th grader, or Matthew’s parents. They must have thought we were crazy.

Eventually, Matthew came to the door and I explained what we were doing there. I asked him if there was a reason why he didn’t come back to GHS. He said that he went to jail last May. We then asked him if he knew that school had started back this week. He didn’t really answer. I asked him what he wanted to do about his education. He said he was thinking about going to Greenville Tech or something. Well, that opened the door. I told him that we had many people back at Greenville High that day that could help him figure out how to make that happen. We told him that we could get a car to his house to pick him up and take him to the school. He agreed and asked if we could wait for him to get ready. Was he kidding? Of course we would.

During our time waiting outside for the transportation to get there, we all talked about how excited we were. We had a success. Just getting him to the school was a success. It showed a desire. Recognition that education is important. Some of us may have shed a tear. I’m not going to say whom, though.

I write all this simply to set up this moment. When Matthew came out, ready to go, we were still waiting on the transportation to arrive. So, we had a moment to chat with him. He told us that he went to jail in May and that’s why he didn’t finish out last year. We didn’t ask why. We didn’t need to. And, he said that he just didn’t feel like he could go back, so he didn’t. I asked him if he played sports and what he liked to do. He said he really wanted to play football and that he was trying to get a job at Furman, working in the dining hall. We talked about his family and what they were like. He told us that he has 13 brothers and sisters, ranging from 32 to 6. And, then he said something that made me want to hug him as hard as I could.

We stood there talking to Matthew about opportunities available to him. Opportunities like continuing education programs at Greenville Tech or The Sullivan Center. We told him that no mistake is unredeemable. And, he talked about his mistakes and where he’s been. Then, he said it. He looked at all of us. Denis, Stephanie, me and Meg and said, “I ain’t fallen all the way off yet.” And, he smiled.

“I ain’t fallen all the way off yet.” This means he has a desire to continue. That he wants to learn. That he knows that he is a good kid and no matter what he’s done, he can come back. He can make up for mistakes. He can better himself. He can achieve whatever he wants. He knew that. And, he wanted us to know that too. I think, at that moment, we all fell in love with Matthew and wanted to do everything we could to help him succeed.

Eventually, his mother came out to meet us. She is a wonderful woman, charged with the task of raising 14 children (9 boys, WHEW!) on her own. Her husband passed away a few years ago. She loves her children. She wants them to succeed too. She went with Matthew to the school. We watched them as they rode off and all of us breathed a sigh of wonderful relief. Matthew was waiting on a push, we felt. He was waiting to go to Tech. He was waiting to move forward with his life. He was waiting for tomorrow. Well, on that Saturday, I guess he was waiting on us. We helped give him that push.

On a beautiful Saturday morning we became inspired. We became enlightened. We became educated. I’m sure we’ll all think of Matthew every now and then and wonder how he is doing. I’m sure many of us will pray for him to succeed. We told him that we were going to keep track of him. I’m not sure he believed us. But, I do know that we were privileged to meet him and thankful that he made the decision to go back. So, here is to Matthew and his continued success.

Whew...What a Weekend

So, we had a really busy weekend over here at Greenville Forward. Russell and I participated in "Opening Doors To Success" day for Graduate Greenville, Kate prepared for school starting this week and students moving back in (Kate actually holds the key), I opened a play, "The Three Cuckolds" at The Warehouse Theater and Russell discovered the shear joy of being a Mac user.

But, for right now, I am knees deep in planning for an event we have here tonight to share some of the great things our Task Forces have been doing. Making lists, moving furniture, crafting chairs out of cardboard and bubble gum. Should be an exciting night.

I just wanted to let all of you out there know that we are still around. I will posting a blog about the Graduate Greenville event tomorrow. Maybe tonight. We'll see.

Til then....

The New Word of Mouth

Do you Facebook? Myspace? Or even...Twitter? If so you are privy to the new, futuristic and virtual version of word of mouth. You are familiar with the lingo of “tweets” and “pokes” and probably mourned the tragic downfall of Scrabulous. You know that facebook can be a verb or a noun and that “stalking” no longer carries the negative connotation it used to. You also are probably more connected to the people in your sphere of influence and may even know what they have had for dinner for the past week thanks to the updates they sent out.

If you have never heard of these strange words before and you only know that Webster did not think of them…you may want to pay attention to the following few paragraphs.

In the last 20 years or so, systems of communication have changed dramatically. We have catapulted into an ever tightening web of interconnection and constant contact. I must admit, I sometimes find it suffocating. We stay plugged in 24 hours a day, often only disconnecting for sleep—but even then, being reached is only a vibration or annoying ringtone away.

While I could sit here and argue the pros and cons of the information age-- all in all, it is good. I read a book in one of my classes at Furman on globalization that I would recommend to anyone. It is called The Lexus and the Olive Tree and is by Tom Friedman. Check it out if you ever want to read a good, fleshed out exploration of globalization’s glories and downfalls.

What is a key current in the book and why people remain believers is that communication is the porthole to the future success of a global economy. That being said, I must tell you about a seminar Brock and I attended yesterday. Sponsored by the Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council (GATC), the seminar focused on the benefits of Word of Mouth marketing. Keynote speaker was Geno Church, “Word of Mouth Guru” of Brains on Fire, a local identity company that puts a fresh and creative spin on traditional marketing techniques.

To be honest, I had not heard of the program Twitter until the past couple of weeks…perhaps it is taking a little bit of time to filter down to the college kids, but Geno talked a lot about it in his presentation. The overall idea is that the old ways of getting people to talk about your products and ideas are out. The new world of marketing exists heavily online through various techniques that utilize programs like Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot, and a multitude of others to get people “talking” with their fingers online.

It is a new way of getting brands out there and in the “blogosphere.” That being said, fellow bloggers, I would like to invite you to join our Greenville Forward team and help us spread the word about who we are and what we are doing. If you are on Facebook, join our Greenville Forward Cause. Tell your friends. Blog about it. Send a tweet.

Thanks in advance for joining in our cyber-adventures but be sure you don't spend too much time glued to your blackberry, get outside a little, too.

Picking Up The Torch...

Just last week I read an article in The Greenville News about how Greenville is "growing grayer." It seems like the baby boomers, who make up 10 percent more of the population now than they did in 2000, are the fastest growing segment of the Greenville population. Now, I don't think that this is a bad thing. I actually think that is a positive thing, but when matched with the fact that the 25-39 age group is 11 percent LESS than it was in 2000, I begin to worry.

I have been back in Greenville since 2000 and I have seen the streets, businesses and lifestyle become younger and younger on a daily basis. But how, if I see younger people around, can we be falling at such a rapid pace? We need the 25 - 39 year olds to take the torch that has been carried by the leaders of today. We need more of them to come and help lead Greenville to the future.

While reading this article, I started thinking about a blog I wrote a long time ago for another organization. Although I hate to recylcle old blog posts, I think this one may be necessary. Read and let me know what you think...

A week ago I was privileged enough to attend the University Center of Greenville’s Board of Visitors meeting where Carol Coletta was the keynote speaker. I heard Carol Colletta speak about 4 years ago as the keynote speaker for the unveiling of Vision 2025, a long term, community-wide vision for Greenville County. It just so happens that 4 years later, I am the program director for the non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to make sure that Vision 2025 continues to dream for our community, Greenville Forward.

First I will provide a brief explanation of who Carol Coletta is. She is currently the President and CEO of CEOs for Cities (http://www.ceosforcities.org/home/index.php), whose mission is to “act as an idea lab for cities.” They “discover the trends that will affect cities for better or worse, decipher what can be done to respond and develop new innovations to put to work in cities.” The organization produces various reports and findings on what trends are out there that affect cities and their growth. They also serve as “experts” in how creative communities can grow and prosper in the environment that exists today.

So, I went to the early morning meeting very intrigued by what I was about to hear. I know that Coletta has a storied interest in helping our cities grow through the attraction, engagement and retention of our young professionals. My work at Greenville Forward carries me to this ideal as well. With the ever changing face of our community, the need to engage our young people is crucial. Greenville has been blessed in the past with courageous leaders who have developed visions for our community to make sure that we are able to keep up with the future. Visions for Greenville date back over 100 years, providing us with many of the amenities we enjoy today.

Now is time for us to find those Greenvillians who are going to make sure that we continue on this path. We need to identify those young people who continually challenge themselves and those around them to move beyond the standard way of thinking and view our community from a broader sense. Who are going to be those future leaders that are going to take the reins on inclusion and diversity in our community? Who are those future leaders that are going to help ensure that our arts community is vibrant, strong and fully funded? Who are those future leaders that are going to grow our school system holistically so that every man, woman and child has the opportunity for strong, viable education from birth to death? Who are the future leaders that are going to help us make sure that everyone around us is cared for? Who is going to work with the current leaders to reach out to students at Furman, Clemson, Greenville Tech and The University Center to keep our talent here?

This is what Coletta talked about. But, as I listened to her speak, I did find one thing to be a bit negative about. As I looked around the room, I quickly noticed that I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years. I was pretty sure that I was the only person under the age of 35. There is a possibility that I was the only person under the age of 40, but I cannot confirm that, nor do I want to offend anyone that was there. This was a discussion that our young people needed to hear. We needed to understand that our communities need us to be engaged and thinking about the future. We need to understand that the young people in our community need to reach out to take the torch that is being passed from the leaders of today.

Coletta talked a lot about the need to grow our young population and how that relates to economic development. Yes, that word that we hear all the time now in Greenville. You hear it from businesses, you hear it from The Chamber, and you hear it from the CVB and others. How can we continue to grow Greenville? Well, communities that continue to grow and maintain substantial economic development have succeeded in four basic areas.

1. They are good at developing and retaining talent.
2. They excel in enabling connections through the community.
3. They embrace distinctiveness and uniqueness.
4. The foster innovation.

While we have a good handle on all of these areas, we are still not keep up with our peer cities, Coletta says. And, much of this can be wrapped around the idea of the first one. We need to do a better job at attracting, engaging and retaining our young talent. 16 out of the 50 major metro areas gained young professionals (25-34) in 2007. Hey, gaining yp’s is good, right? Well, not if you think that 34 of those same areas LOST their young professionals.

As a native to Greenville, I have seen a significant influx of young people to this area. When I left in 1995, with no intention of coming back, we certainly were not competing with Charleston, Charlotte, Atlanta and other cities for our young people. When I came back in 2001, I saw a change. I heard from young people that chose Greenville OVER Charleston. Chose Greenville OVER Atlanta or Charlotte. Why? Much of it centered around quality of life.

In our ever changing world, young people continue to change the rules. They do not look at moving to specific city or community for a job. The trend now is that they are looking at the community first and then looking for a job. Young people are doing their research on communities that fit their passions. They actively search for communities that embrace the following:

1. Clean
2. Tolerant
3. Safe
4. Green
5. Housing that they want that is affordable (this does not necessarily mean affordable housing)
6. Fits their needs

So, what can we do as a community to ensure that we are successful in attracting and retaining these young people? We can reference the list that Coletta gave us and work on those areas. Especially the one about enabling connections throughout the community. We can work with our local colleges and universities to establish programs for the students already in our community. We can work with the school district to engage our youth earlier. We can listen to our young people and work with them to implement their ideas. They are the ones who are going to lead us in the future anyway, right? And, one thing that we can do immediately? Fix our transit system. All communities that succeed in attracting young talent have successful, viable transit systems that are used by all citizens. That’s all I will say about that.

So, where do we go from here? We need to listen to Carol Coletta and her organization. Read the studies. Do the research. But, most of all, reach out to those young people that work for you. Those young people that you see at lunch. Those young people that are interning with your organization. Certainly serve as a mentor to someone young. But, help identify who those future leaders are. And, send me their names. Figure out ways to get them engaged. Find out what their passions are. Establish connections in getting them engaged.

I mean, I have a dream for Greenville. In 2020, I want to see 100’s of Greenvillians my age preparing to develop Vision 2050 for Greenville. Won’t that be nice?

An Olympic Show of Patriotism

This morning, as I sipped my usual cup of joe and prepared for the day with my Today Show fix, I became overcome with emotion while watching the segment featuring our Olympic athletes gearing up to compete in Beijing. As a little girl, I used to think my dad was strange when he teared up as our national anthem was played after one of our own won a hard-fought medal during the Olympic games. Now, I think I finally understand.

The Olympics are big in my family. Before my brother and I left for college, we used to spend many an evening with the tv trays, glued to our television set as we watched the winter and summer games. Since most of my family were athletes at one time or another, there is a certain vicarious feeling we have in watching an American superstar swim ahead to reach the wall first, or stick the landing off of the balance beam.

For those of us who have no family members fighting for our country or who have little real experience with war, there is no greater feeling of pride and patriotism than watching one of our own standing on the award podium, hand over heart as they raise our flag and play our anthem. It brings chills to me now just thinking about it.

For the first time since I can remember, I spent the Independence Day holiday apart from my family. With two grandfathers having served during World War II, it is usually a special day for us as we honor them and celebrate the freedom we have thanks to their sacrifice. They always say that my generation has no real sense of patriotism and this thought makes me sad.

For me, the biggest sense of unity I ever felt occurred in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. My small town mourned for those lost in the attacks and celebrated their memory and our resilience with a barrage of car flags. Driving down the major thoroughfares of our community, you could not find a car without one or two of these little American flags attached to the windows. I remember feeling my heart swell and my throat thicken when I felt the emotion and camaraderie we had, even as strangers.

It is moments like those where we forget the things that make us individuals but remember the same flag that pulls us all together. This morning, as I listened to a montage of patriotic tunes that served as the backdrop for the images capturing monumental Olympic moments in history, I felt a glimmer of the patriotism that I wish I had all the time.

Sadly, I think my grandparents may be right. I think we could all spend a little more time reflecting on what it means to be an American and fly a few more flags on our front porches. As the Olympic games commence on Friday, I hope you all will watch and share in the support for our athletes and our country.