This weekend I took part in the 'Imagine Mataura' planning day in our fabulous new Community Centre.
The event was hosted by Imagine Chicago President, Bliss Brown and was the most positive and inspiring day.
It was attended by some 80 or so locals who were keen to see Mataura going places and determined to make a difference. Dr Jack Phillips, a retired American Dentist who owns the majority of commercial properties on our main street was not in attendence and had not arranged for a representative to attend in his stead. It is a shame that he did not make the effort as it was a truly fantastic day and I'm sure he could have contributed a great deal.
The most amazing thing I noticed was that despite the diversity of people in attendance, the hopes and dreams we all held for Mataura were essentially similar. Most of them revolved around people, increased community connections and building a town that we all could be proud of.
The planning day has generated so many wonderful ideas for the future of our town. There are groups meeting together to help achieve our goals for the community. These include organising events for the community such as free video nights in the Community Centre and a Talent Show, discussing how to improve Mataura's image and show the world what a great town we are, setting up activities for the kids in our town and starting a business co-op and community garden.
It really is exciting times for Mataura!!
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