Fall 2011 JCCI Newsletter

l l Fa Community 1 1 0 Matters 2 Jacksonville Community Council Inc.

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11 ll 20 FaCommunity Matters Jacksonville Community Council Inc.

Join us online!..........3 Member Spotlight...3 JCCI Forward............3 JCCI Events...............2 From the CEO...........2 Annual Meeting.......1 Welcome to CE0......1

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Introducing Ben Waner JCCI’s new President & CEO

Jacksonville Community Council Inc. Board of Directors Chair William C. Mason announced the selection of longtime JCCI deputy and vice president J. Benjamin Warner as its new President & CEO on August 19.

“I could not be happier with Ben’s selection for this vital leadership position.

His credentials, locally, nationally and internationally, are impeccable,” said Mason.

Warner officially took office on September 1st, relieving Skip Cramer, who held the post for the past seven years. Cramer plans to retire and remain in the area, active in the community as a volunteer and consultant, at the end of September.

Warner joined JCCI in September

1998 as a senior Community Planner and rose quickly to Vice President .

“We conducted a thorough nationwide search for our new CEO and found the perfect person right here,” said Search Committee and incoming JCCI Board Chair, John Hirabayashi. “I am delighted to be working with Ben. He has the intellect, experience, energy and reputation to take this organization to the next level,” commented Hirabayashi.

Warner graduated from Brigham Young University and received his Master’s in Social Work from Florida State University. He is the past Chair of the National Association of Planning Councils and the International Community Indicators Consortium.

He is a graduate of the Class of 2005

of the Northeast Florida Regional Leadership Academy and Leadership Jacksonville’s Class of 2008. Warner has represented JCCI nationally and internationally in the areas of community indicators, citizen engagement, and community visioning.

On October 12, JCCI will host an open house, where community citizens will have the opportunity to meet Warner and wish farewell to Cramer. For more information visit www.jcci.org.

JCCI 2011 Annual Meeting draws nearly 350 On Friday, September 9, JCCI hosted its 36th Annual Meeting, featuring Keynote Speaker Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, Texas. The event drew nearly 350 community leaders and JCCI members.

Castro is the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city, leading San Antonio at just 37 years old. He shared with the crowd the strengths and weaknesses of San Antonio and discussed SA2020, a visioning process completed for the community and facilitated by JCCI’s Ben Warner and staff.

“San Antonio is a big city and has big city challenges,” he said, referring to a high school dropout rate of about 40 percent; child and adult obesity rates at twice the national average; and a senior

population quality of life “under what it should be.”

“It’s still a place with a fundamental sense of community and great character,” he said. In bringing Mayor Castro to the Annual Meeting, JCCI hoped to share the importance of a visioning process to a community and its impact on the community as a whole.

During the meeting, JCCI also inducted its new President & CEO, Ben Warner, along with the 2011-2012 Board of Directors.

For more information about Mayor Castro and SA2020, visit www.sa2020. org.

Have you signed up for our new online community?

Register today at community.jcci.org

From the CEO

JCCI Forward

Upcoming Events

Dear Friends, On September 1st, I assumed a mantle than has been worn most capably by Marian Chambers, Lois Chepenik, and Skip Cramer. It is humbling to recognize that these three leaders encompassed 35 years of JCCI’s history. What we are today has been carefully nurtured and nourished by continuity in leadership and vision, and tens of thousands of hours from committed volunteers.

This foundation demands great things from us today. We look forward to this coming year and the opportunities for community engagement and positive change that will continue to transform the Jacksonville region.

This year we will wrap up the groundbreaking work of our study of the city’s finances. We will hear from the implementation advocacy team of the progress made in reshaping and opening up the budget process, in bringing in performance measurement and budgeting by functions, in demonstrating the need for pension reform and greater financial accountability.

We have seen how the budget workshops JCCI has provided for the past two years have changed the budget debate and informed Mayor Alvin Brown (who attended all of them!) We expect to see the reforms outlined in the report bring our city back to financial sustainability.

We are also bringing together a strong volunteer team to advance the recommendations of the Recession, Recovery and Beyond study. We have heard loud and clear from the community that job creation is the most important issue

we face today, and JCCI is doing its part to position Northeast Florida for economic gains today and a brighter economic future.

Our newest community study addresses early child development from birth to age three (read more about the study below.) Children: 1-2-3 will examine policy and practice as we prepare our children for educational success. Please join us in this work by signing up today.

JCCI Forward continues to draw together a rising generation of bright, passionate, civic-minded leaders who are determined to build a better community. I stand in constant admiration of these volunteers, who design their own programs and inspire community action. If you haven’t participated in a Forward activity or issue forum yet, please mark your calendar now and make time to join them.

JCCI can do what we do only because of your support.

We encourage you to continue to give of your time and resources to strengthen and uplift this community.

Thank you once again for making JCCI “the preeminent nonpartisan civic organization in the country.”[1] It is an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

[1] Suzanne Morse, Pew Partnership for Civic Change

Wednesday, October 12 from 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. JCCI’s Children: 1-2-3 Study Orientation Meeting: Duval County has 50,000 children from birth to age 3. Five thousand of these children, if nothing else changes, will arrive at kindergarten at age 5 unprepared for learning. 90 percent of brain development and 80 percent of vocabulary acquisition occurs and is learned by age 5. Prenatally to age 5, the foundational capabilities that determine subsequent development and educational, social and economic success through adulthood are established. Many of these children will not be diagnosed with learning difficulties, autism, or a sensory disability until they reach elementary school, missing years of early intervention and treatment opportunities. JCCI invites you to help us understand public policy and parent options around child development, language acquisition, and readiness for education for this age group. These meetings are free and open to all community residents and will be held at JCCI’s offices-2434 Atlantic Blvd. Register online at www.jcci.org.

Wednesday, October 12 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. JCCI Open House: Join the JCCI Board of Directors and Staff as we welcome new President & CEO Ben Warner! Learn more at www.jcci.org.

Tuesday, October 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. JCCI Forward Skills Training: Running Effective Meetings: Join JCCI’s President & CEO Ben Warner and Justin Spiller, Chair of Atlantic Circle and member of the United Way Board of Directors to learn the techniques and tools you need to chair or participate in more effective meetings. This training, like all our trainings, is free and open to the public. RSVP at www. jcciforward.org.

Is your JCCI membership expiring?

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Renew it today at community.jcci.org

Your 2011-2012 Executive Committee This summer the new Executive Committee has stayed busy planning for the 2011-2012 year. Forums, networking opportunities and follow-up to the very successful prom are all in the works.

JAXFacts: Innovators in Early Education

Thursday, October 6 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

10th Floor Nemours Clinic Duval County has 50,000 children ages 1 thru 3. Five thousand of these children, without intervention, will start the first day of kindergarten (at age 5) unprepared for learning! Forward participants, 25-45 years of age, are the parents of these children and may or may not know the options available in our community…JCCI Forward presents 8 local innovators who are ready to make an impact in our kids future. They will be sharing about their programs and results using our popular “speed-dating” format. Join us for an evening of networking and learning, dinner included!

RSVP today at www.jcciforward.org, Babysitting provided.

Chair: Jennifer Mansfield

Chair-Elect: Lee Poechmann Immediate Past Chair: Elexia Coleman Moss

Committee Members: Mickee Brown Mi-Lim Chun Terri Glover William Jackson Jacqui Lowe

Henry Burkard Leah Donelan Broderick Green Circe LeNoble Eric Parker

Member spotlight: Lee Brown Editor Note: Last month, JCCI introduced a new feature in our newsletter; the Member Spotlight.

Last month’s Member Spotlight Jacqui Lowe with ruckus. advertising + public relations caught up with Lee Brown, 2011-2012 JCCI Board Fund Development Chair and past chair of JCCI Forward to learn more about how he came to be involved in the organization.

An active member of JCCI since 2002, Lee Brown is deeply dedicated to making real change in the community. Recognizing early on that JCCI is considered a worldwide thought leader for building a better community, Lee lends his time and talent to the organization to be a part of its forward thinking vision.

In the 2011-2012 year, Lee will lead the fund development strategy for JCCI with the goal that the organization can not only continue its quality work but to make an impact on public policy to position Jacksonville as a fertile ground for entrepreneurial growth and business expansion.

“It is extremely important to get involved in your community,” said Lee. “People need to have a say on how the community is run, how taxes are spent, the types of recreation we have and ensuring the safety of our community.

Understanding how our leaders are elected and monitoring how they govern is an important skill to have and JCCI helps you hone that skill.”

As the 2009 JCCI Forward chair, Lee knows first hand the importance of getting involved in the community. To him, JCCI Forward is a platform to host thought provoking forums, create meaningful dialogue and develop the next generation of community leaders. In 2005, JCCI Forward participants were instrumental in forming the Super Bowl XXXIX Speakers Bureau and played a vital role in creating a buzz leading up to the game.

“It was a watershed moment in our city’s history,” said Lee. “People who don’t make things happen, let things happen to them. JCCI and JCCI Forward participants made something big happen when they rallied together to help shine a worldwide spotlight on our city.”

What’s coming up next?

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Justin Sims Ed Schmalfeld Beth Slater Brooks Terry Laura Weiss

Get Involved!

VISIT www.jcci.org www.jcciforward.org

EMAIL

mail@jcci.org

PHONE

904.396.3052

Log on to community.jcci.org to find out!