The city’s Building Futures campaign now has its own presence on the Internet, with not only its own Web site, but also MySpace and Facebook pages, as Chamber of Commerce President Jeanine McKenna aims to get younger people involved with Building Futures.
The new Web site at www.emporiabuildingfutures.com doesn’t have a great deal of content yet, but it does contain information on the nine goals of the Building Futures campaign and features on local individuals and businesses. There are also links available that are set to contain promotions and giveaways, merchandise to purchase, and feedback on the campaign.
“But we’re really hoping to use those avenues to connect the community, to keep (them) updated on what’s happening,” McKenna said. “So right now, we have the initial information on those Web sites, but we’re hoping that it will continually be changed, update(d), that community members, if they have feedback to give us on what’s happening in the community, good things that are happening in neighborhoods, that we can show people that there are a lot of great positives in the community, there are a lot of good things happening.”
Building Futures’ foray into the two most popular social networking sites are an effort to get Emporia’s younger demographic involved in the campaign. McKenna said she doesn’t have much previous experience with MySpace, where Building Futures has its own page, or Facebook, where users can join the Building Futures group. McKenna said the younger people the campaign will reach through those avenues can provide a lot of input.
“I mean, they can talk about the neat places to hang out, things to do,” she said. “We can talk about events that are happening ... I think there’s a lot that the youth of our community can contribute to, but that’s also gets them connected back to the community, too.”
The nine goals of Building Futures are listed as follows:
- Enhance how Emporia is thought of by citizens, guests and others connected with the community.
- Create new high-skill jobs that provide very competitive wages.
- Allocate city services to effectively fit the needs of the community.
- Expand the culture, dining and retail services available in the Emporia area.
- Enhance the housing available in the Emporia area.
- Strengthen the services and community partnerships in order to enhance the educational opportunities available to people in all walks of life.
- Improve and increase the recreational opportunities available in the Emporia area.
- Increase tourism to the Emporia area.
- Facilitate population growth in the Emporia area.
Each goal, except for the last, has a committee associated with it. McKenna and Gary Nye are the heads of the image committee. The other committee leaders are Brian LeWallen, job creation; Elvin Perkins, city services; Kristi Mohn, culture, dining and retail; Fred Neuer, housing; Jim Williams, education; Tom McEvoy, recreation; and Jamie Sauder, tourism.
McKenna said the population growth goal doesn’t have a committee because it is seen as more of an end result of the other goals.
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