On Tuesday, Mayor Jim Gray was on hand at the historic courthouse with Fayette Superintendent Manny Caulk and Blue Grass Community Foundation CEO Lisa Adkins to declare March 28, 2018 as “On The Table Day” in Lexington.
On The Table is a one-day opportunity to talk about the issues, big and small, that impact the quality of life in the Bluegrass. On The Table is a community engagement event in Lexington-Fayette County, Franklin County, Clark County, Woodford County and the surrounding region where anyone and everyone’s conversations will not only further Blue Grass Community Foundation’s work, but will also inform community leaders and decision makers.
“I often say that God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason. Why? To listen twice as much as we talk,” Gray said. “Listening is what we are talking about today. Listening to citizens tell us what they want for our city, their vision, their concerns and their needs.”
This is the second year for On The Table. In 2017, nearly 12,000 Lexington residents participated in the On The Table discussions. Also, Blue Grass Community Foundation and its partners helped address the concerns brought up in the talks within the community and then followed it up with grants, which have been used to fund services and activities all over Lexington including a focus on youth and seniors, improving access to technology, cleaning up the city, making streets safer and planting trees.
“I encourage everyone to put an On The Table group together in your home, in your church and over lunch at work. Then on March 28, take a break from March Madness and take the time to talk about our city, our schools, traffic, what we’re doing, what we’re not doing, whatever you want to talk about,” Gray said. “Let’s get it all out on the table so we can make good decisions for the future.”
Fayette Superintendent Manny Caulk expressed his enthusiasm for the official day and viewed it as an excellent opportunity to engage in conversations to improve the quality of life for Lexitonians. Caulk has used these types of discussions to address recent concerns regarding school safety.
“We will be holding “On the table” discussions in our district offices as well. Our school district takes seriously our role in driving change and an innovation in our community,” Caulk said. “We want to ensure that our employees and our families are active participants in a democratic process to fully understand our responsibility to develop students as citizens as well as scholars.”
On The Table will take place on March 28 and there are no fees and all ages are encouraged to participate. On The Table will use the social media hashtag #OnTheTable18 in regards to discussions centered around the event.
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