All America City Award Discussion Notes

Tasha introduces the High Point team and community partners involved in the All America City Award application.
Hannah: Creative director at a nonprofit, responsible for community storytelling (magazine, website, social media). Her role was to tell the city's story on a national stage.
Eric Omido: Assistant city manager, coordinated logistics for the application process and the team's travel to Denver (21 people). Most team members were community members.
Jackie Davis: Executive director and cofounder of a neighborhood organization, president of the Neighborhood Association, and past chair of the Greater High Point Food Alliance. She helped represent food security issues, ensured youth diversity (6 youth members) in the team.
Jerome House: Managing director for the city, oversaw the marketing division. He worked with Hannah's team to present the visual aspects of the application and the team's presentation.

Creative Director: Taskmaster for practicing and rehearsing.
Logistics Person: Coordinated forgotten items, shirts, swags, and the overall unified look for the team.

Charles: Introduced the team from Statesboro, highlighting his long-term acquaintance with Tasha. Expressed pride in Tasha's achievement as city manager.
Candace Botkin: Works for the university, initiated the All American City application for Statesboro.
Olympia: Assistant to the city manager, supporting the application process.
Lane Phillips: Public affairs manager.
Edie Grice: Graduate student at Georgia Southern, cofounder of Grice Connect, and communications director for Bulleit BowLab (volunteer organization in disaster). She took the lead in completing the application.

Candace wanted to participate in the All American City contest and believed Statesboro had a compelling story.
Edie highlighted the city's accomplishments and the ease of compiling the application due to the city's investments in key programs.
Edie is also eager to learn how to transition from having a story to creating a captivating show for the competition.

Hannah focused on writing the script to ensure community members who had done the work had the primary speaking roles.
Jackie helped involve diverse community members, including youth.
They collaborated on stage props, considering physical limitations of what could be transported.
The city provided financial support for community members to attend, along with T-shirts and materials.
Tasha emphasized that the story's conviction and passion matter more than having the biggest team or grandest displays.
She noted that engaging with the judges and answering their questions effectively is crucial.

It's helpful to utilize feedback from the application to highlight questions.
Having a theme for the presentation offers a metaphorical device to help people understand the story, like community voices or sustainability.

Statesboro is determining when to start inviting team members to come to the City Chamber.
High Point started the script process and rehearsals in May, with the event in June.
High Point shipped the majority of props and materials, sending one person by car for flexibility.
For the watch party, High Point held it at home.
Judges have the written proposal submitted by the team.