State of the Eastside: Business, community and government leaders give region a passing grade

Class was back in session at Redmond?s Old Schoolhouse Community Center Thursday afternoon as more than 200 business, community and government leaders throughout the Eastside gathered to generate a community report card evaluating how the region is performing.

Attendees at Leadership Eastside?s (LE) second annual State of the Eastside luncheon provided grades for seven subjects and while the Eastside received a passing grade ? about a B-C average ? it was clear there is room for improvement.

Grades were given in arts and culture, basic needs, education, environment, health and wellness, economy and neighborhoods and community. Attendees were seated based on their subject of interest and when the time came, discussed and collaborated with their table mates to come up with a grade. There were two to four tables per subject.

Before the crowd broke into small groups, a three-person panel comprised of Redmond Mayor John Marchione, Stacy Graven, executive director of the Meydenbauer Center and?Norman Rice, president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation, gave their grades in the different categories. The small groups at the event were encouraged to use the panelists? grades as guidelines for their final decisions.

Arts and culture received a C average as group members said there is a passion for the arts on the Eastside, but the mechanism to deliver is lacking.

The groups evaluating basic needs gave two grades ? one for the quality of services provided and one for how well they are addressing the community?s needs. The former received a B, while the latter barely passed with a C-. The group stated that one of big issues concerning basic needs is the difference in services available on either side of Interstate 90, with the south side not faring as well.

Education received a B-/C+. The group members said the success of Eastside schools and colleges are directly related to the communities? involvement and support.

Members of the environment group graded on an ?AP (Advanced Placement) curve,? according to event moderator and LE President and Executive Director James Whitfield. The group gave environment a C+, saying the Eastside is doing pretty well compared to the rest of the country, but as with the other issues, can still improve.

Health and wellness also received a C+ because while the services available on the Eastside are good, the group said there is an issue of accessing these services in some communities. They also had concerns about high insurance rates, the increase in obesity among the population and the growing acceptance of drug and alcohol use.

The economy received a B/B- and the group actually ended their discussion session with more questions on how to improve things than when they began.

Finally, neighborhoods and community received a B-. The group said while the Eastside has become more diverse, there has not been much integration, communication or connection among the different communities. They said the region is on the right track and just need to continue on its path.

After all of the grades were announced, Whitfield noted to the crowd how there was not a single A+ and then charged the ?class? with a task.

?We want a healthy community and your charge is to help make that happen,? he said. ?The folks in this room are the reason the Eastside works at all.?

LE managing director Karin Duval (below), agreed, saying Thursday?s packed crowd was a ?who?s who? of the Eastside. She added that they even had to turn some people away because the event was so popular.

?It speaks to how much these people care about where they live and what they do,? Duval said.

She said the purpose of the luncheon is to give first-year students enrolled in the LE leadership class an opportunity to hear from the community about what issues and concerns need to be addressed before choosing a community project to take on during their second year.

Duval explained that LE?s three-year leadership class is broken down into three sections: learn it, live it and share it. The first year is spent studying different types of adaptive leadership. During the second year, students do a community project addressing an area of concern they are passionate about, which is why the luncheon is so important. Duval said it connects students with leaders in their respective fields. Finally, students spend their third year working on their personal role as a leader in their community and how to share their passion about their issue with others.

For more information at LE, visit?www.leadershipeastside.com.

?

Contact Redmond Reporter Reporter Samantha Pak at spak@redmond-reporter.com or 425-867-0353, ext. 5052.

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/kirnews/~3/f4WfAban4aM/139116349.html

oregon usc la auto show powerball winning numbers powerball winning numbers uc davis pepper spray uc davis pepper spray usc oregon