Civic Connections

Last night, I attended Dedham Civic Connections--a community networking event that drew over 100 Dedhamites (and me) for an informal get together of town employees, elected officials, business owners and a wide range of creative, civicly-engaged people. I think this is an idea Westwood could learn from...

Selectman Paul Reynolds noted that there are probably a couple hundred people in Dedham who serve on the committees, volunteer/organize in community organizations and otherwise serve the town. You could call that the "Dedham 200." But the goal is to make it the Dedham 23,000--events like this are a start.

Westwood has no shortage of volunteers and community organizations. Check the list of town commissions and appointments by the Selectmen and you will quickly find a list of people and committees that are already very engaged in the quiet work of the town. Try to schedule a meeting--like our monthly Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee meetings (3rd Thursday)--and you'll quickly find there are many conflicts because many people are busy at many meetings.

I have been able to find less in terms of business organization...I'm thinking of joining the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce--but I also think we need something local to Westwood. I'm working out some business offerings as part of Dave Atkins Media to set up local businesses with simple web sites and I also believe WestwoodBlog can play a supporting role in all of this...

That is the kind of mix I think an organization like what Dedham has started could facilitate in Westwood. Perhaps a quarterly meeting with food and drinks--not an agenda--could provide a way for residents, business owners, town officials and activists to meet and strengthen their connections and develop new ones. For business owners, it is an opportunity to network. For people interested in issues, it's a chance to meet people on the various committees informally and get a better sense of the personal element behind so much of what goes on in town...so "The Town" is not some detached bureaucracy.

I think a big part of strengthening a community can be described as making individuals and businesses aware of opportunities to invest. "Invest" doesn't just mean money--it can be volunteer time or even just influence--to pass along the idea to others or to help build consensus around strategic action that can make a difference. But community and business are not separate--the "bottom line," literally, is that we all need to work to make money and pay our taxes--and the town needs revenue from somewhere to do the things that people would like to see done. Connecting these things will make everyone better off and enable us to look forward with optimism and possibility even in difficult economic times.