Beginnings...

By Laura Sandmann

How many meetings have you been in where you walked away and felt like it had been, for the most part, a waste of time? Personally, I have been in way too many of that type of meeting. But Saturday morning I attended a meeting that was the perfect end to my 2018. 
I've thrown my hat in with a great group of people. We had a magically synergistic experience revising Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. I know that probably sounds like a boring subject matter, but it most definitely wasn't. My focus of interest has become hyper focused on inclusive community engagement, specifically via the arts, and these guys with York XL are so right up my alley. It's delightfully satisfying. 

In the last hour we started tackling the task of revising the Vision and Mission Statements. There was this incredible and spontaneous back and forth that happened which engaged every person in the room. The end result was everything you would want it to be. It was quick, we set aside 20 minutes for hashing over the Mission Statement and at about 10 minutes everyone unanimously agreed that it was a massively successful collaboration of minds. 

Here's the revised Mission Statement:
Bringing us together to imagine better communities and work passionately to create them.

Each mind in the room contributed small pieces to this revision. We moved from language like 'we' which may separate us from the reader to 'us'. We simplified wording. We honed the focus and the words used to describe that focus. It was like the ultimate game of table tennis (with 8 players!) where the ball moves so fast it's difficult to keep track of, but each person volleys back in perfect timing and form.

These are the kinds of meetings that feed my soul. I am definitely looking forward to being part of this team over the next couple of years. There is so much potential contained within the movement York XL has been intentionally incubating in our neighborhoods. It's still on the ground level, but definitely will not be for long. 
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If you are looking for ways to share your love of community, your love of healthy living, your love of beautiful and clean streets, your love of the arts, or your love of social engagement, this is a group that will support you in building on those most beautiful facets of yourself. Please send us a note, let us know what you think of our revised Mission Statement, and consider feeding this fire and getting involved.

We need your help! Let's move onward and upward, together!  #RiseTogetherChallenge