Where do I even begin to state all that I am thinking right now? I have just finished reading all of the updates on a Facebook group, "My Louisville, MS" that is a gathering place of ideas about my hometown of Louisville. Reading it this morning has left me encouraged about the future of my hometown.

For one, thanks in part to discussion generated through this group, our town's first farmers' market was held yesterday. From the reactions on the group, it was a success in many ways. Farmers sold out, shoppers went home with local produce, and all enjoyed a resounding sense of community. How neat!

Secondly, I feel renewed about the potential of groups like this to link communities. We are living in a day of increased technological use, but I firmly believe that the rise of technology doesn't necessitate a decline in community. If anything, this Facebook group has led to a renewal in the spirit of community that exists in Louisville. It has united people of all ages and backgrounds and given them a voice in what goes on in their town. I'm even thinking about changing my personal policy against adults on Facebook (actually, that probably has already changed, as I've added many as "friends" after "meeting" them on the Facebook group). So, through its ability to connect people and ideas, technology has furthered the life of our little community.

I can't wait to see where this group will take us next. We're hoping to increase its membership over the next few months. I'd love to hear ideas as to how we can do such a thing, given the barriers to technology that are true for rural communities.

Which brings me to what I have been working on at work, or will be next week: a marketing and communications plan for the foundation to better disseminate community information to all citizens. What a challenge! Especially considering I have no marketing and communications experience whatsoever. But the results of effective communication in Louisville are encouraging to me; I get to hopefully be a part of similar things in Danville.

The Week in Review

This week marked the completion of one project and the transition to another. It also marked the end of week four of the internship. I was relieved to have successfully completed our first small group project, but the end of the week brought another challenge from our boss that could not be taken lightly.
The beginning of the week was filled with preparation for final project presentations on Wednesday. I had anticipated Wednesday with excitement, because I was feeling a bit stifled by my group, as we worked on the re-branding of the region and a new economic development plan for it. My group was made up of me and three other interns: one who happens to be a roommate of mine, another who is a native of Danville, and another from China. The chemistry within the group was led by two dominant players and left to lead by one who does not quite understand American culture, and me. I will admit that I probably could have taken more control, but the lead (who will continue revising the project until the end of the summer) had already been chosen. I felt that she needed to make some of the major decisions, but I was still left frustrated almost every day at the lack of patience and understanding that existed within our group. However, it served as a great lesson in group dynamics, one that I hope to learn from as I am now the lead in my current project.
Despite these minor personality differences, our presentation was extremely well-planned and executed. On our presentation day, our boss Karl chided another group for being ambiguous and lengthy in their presentation; and the third group’s presentation could not be finished by that time because it is a grant proposal in progress. By default, our group represented the most polished report of the day, yet not without flaws. The program officers questioned several aspects of our work, but were overall pleased at the research and ideas we laid out in the end.
The next day, my new group began background research on our new project. We will be working on the Foundation’s grant proposal to the Knight Foundation’s Community Information Challenge and simultaneously developing a marketing and communications strategy for the Foundation. Marketing, admittedly, is not my area of expertise; but, I very much want the grant writing experience. I think this will offer a great opportunity to learn about each of these areas while gaining that experience.
When we went to meet with Karl, who will be overseeing our group, about directions for this project, he had a slight diversion for us. He has been selected as one of a few to brief the White House next Wednesday on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s impact on rural America. For Friday and Monday, he wants us to research these implications and brief him before he goes to Washington. While I realize that I probably will not be telling him anything he has not already heard, this is a wonderful opportunity, in my mind, to make a marked difference in public policy. In my mind, it may be the most concrete thing I do all summer. And, as a public policy major, I am actually interpreting and analyzing public policy. That work began on Friday and will continue into Monday (and over the weekend I am sure). It is a lot to digest, but I am eager to actually pull out these implications (I am also afraid to find that the stimulus probably disadvantages rural areas of the country).
So, for now, unfulfilling partnerships among my former group have been overshadowed by the task of analyzing a massive piece of legislation. But, honestly, it is a task more engaging to me than developing a marketing plan. I cannot wait to see what we discover from it.

I'm Tweeting!

As if receiving blog updates from me isn't enough, I've started using the Twitter page that I started and soon forgot about. However, when I realized that I could for once be on a level playing field with characters from Newt Gingrich to Martha Stewart, I thought I'd reinvigorate the process. So, if you'd like to keep up with me on a (hopefully) far more updated basis than the blog, follow me on Twitter, @KatieGWatson.

The Most Important Decision Ever?

When I tell people that I blog, most immediately assume that I take news stories, tear each to bits and pits while entering in my own (not so factually based) opinion. Because that is where a lot of bloggers exert their energy, it is what they have become known for. But up until now, I really haven't done anything too political or news worthy. However, I recently came across an article in The New York Times that I feel is worthy of extending the discussion, or "conversation," shall I say.

The article appeared under "The Conversation," the column that conservative-leaning David Brooks and liberal-leaning Gail Collins co-author in an attempt to bridge beliefs. The headline "Advice for High School Graduates" immediately drew me in; after all, I'm only two years out. Turns out, this article had nothing to do with jobs or college, as I expected. But it contained some of the most relevant information that I have been given, and not so very long ago.

Brooks had been charged with speaking to the graduating class at his former high school. At that point in a teenager's life, they are making huge decisions: where to go to college, what to major in, what organizations to become involved in.. And it seems that those decisions are immense at the time. They trump whatever is going on in life; and, two years later, I can attest that they still do. Upon meeting someone, the first questions I get asked are my school and major. In a few years, I imagine that question to have shifted to, "So, what do you do?"

But, in this article, David Brooks calls our culture out because we emphasize those (important, but not end-all, be-all) decisions, yet downplay the ones that will truly affect us in much deeper and long-lasting ways. He contemplates this paradox here:

"At the moment, I’m thinking of talking about the chief way our society is messed up. That is to say, it is structured to distract people from the decisions that have a huge impact on happiness in order to focus attention on the decisions that have a marginal impact on happiness.

The most important decision any of us make is who we marry. Yet there are no courses on how to choose a spouse. There’s no graduate department in spouse selection studies. Institutions of higher learning devote more resources to semiotics than love."

So why did this article get to me so deeply that I felt I just had to blog about it? Because this was advice that I had recently heard from someone that I deeply respected. At the end of this past semester, after taking a course so interesting it literally changed the way I look at the world, I heard the same advice. The course was essentially team-taught by a husband and wife, who are of the age to now be enjoying grandchildren. On the last day of class, when professors are typically cramming one last morsel of "knowledge" into students, we, instead, were eating cake and drinking milk and discussing marriage. Mrs. Sandy began by asking us what was the most important decision we would ever make.. and several pleased her by correctly answering marriage. Next, I listened as a seasoned woman in her second marriage told a group of green, know-nothing but think-we-know-it-all college students to contemplate that decision with more thought than any other choice of our life. That it would trump all the intelligence we are developing now. That if it wasn't right, it would cause more hurt than any job loss or failure. And as she said this, tears filled her eyes and her husband looked on with love and pride.

She proceeded to show us a book that she recommends for those making this decision, but what she had just told me was still ringing in my head. I could not believe that a college professor (albeit an utterly amazing one) had just said that. Tears honestly began forming in my eyes, before I realized what was happening. I was so touched by this conversation because no one had ever before said something like that to me; no one had stressed the importance of a spouse to me as I was busy stressing about classes, as I am currently stressing about graduate school that is over two year away!

And that is why I nodded my head over and over at David Brooks as I sat at my desk reading his article. It is also why I will forever remember by final class day of Sociology 307 and pass that advice on to those whom I will one day influence. Because this is a lesson worthy of repetition, even over the medium of a lousy blog.

Weekly Etiquette

Did you know that it is acceptable to use the utensils at a meal in either the American or European way? This is a matter of etiquette that has always confused me, so I consulted my Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, or just "Amy," as I like to refer to it. You can choose either to stabilize the food with the fork in your left hand while cutting food and then switch the fork to the right hand to eat the food (American), or keep your fork in your left hand to put the food in your mouth after cutting(European). Likewise, when you've finished a meal, you may place your utensils on the right side of your plate (American) or cross them, fork prongs facing downward, in the center of your plate (European). For some reason, both of the European traditions seem better to me, but I can't say that I hold myself to either way. However, now we know that both are acceptable!

Jefferson's Virginia

I really was there!

Friday, someone referenced being glad they had the opportunity to live in a small town (read: Danville) for the summer. Quickly, I interjected that this was no small town for me. The population that I am akin to being surrounded by just increased 7 fold. However, this still does not add tons and tons of entertainment options to the list of things to do. In a way, I feel bad saying that, because it adds to the prevalent mentality that "There's nothing to do in Danville." This attitude is much of the reason that young Danville natives scurry to nearby Greensboro or Chapel Hill to spend the weekends and Washington, D.C. and Charlotte to start their careers. However, the facts are the facts. I can't say I blame those wanting to escape the life here. I do believe that the bones for an amazing town exist here (and that can't be said for every locality), but that is for another post entirely.

So, early Saturday morning, I packed a bag of snacks, grabbed a Diet Dr Pepper and hit Highway 29 to Charlottesville, Virginia for a day trip. Yes, yes, this is the home of the University of Virginia (with whom I am not happy currently after their wins over Ole Miss's baseball team). It is also where Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is located. These two attractions are entirely of Jefferson's design and exhibit his genius and ample self-taught skills in architecture.

The most prominent thought in my head as I drove back to Danville was how inspired I was by the intellect of a man who has been dead for nearly two hundred years. Jefferson read through his 8,000 volume library in Italian, Spanish, French, Old English, Greek, and of course English; he wrote letters every morning, over 19,000 of which are currently archived (he made copies--brilliant!); he kept learning throughout his life, never imposing a limit on the capability of his mind. On top of this, he served innumerable government and civilian positions, most importantly by being our 3rd President. And here am I, a 19 year old able bodied person who lets an 8-5 job take the life out of me. I think after a visit to Jefferson's Virginia, I might be able to find another source of inspiration.

One of the many bookstores around the Charlottesville area.

Charlottesville's downtown outdoor mall

Historic Court Square- Notice the beautiful mountain view between the buildings

Jefferson's Rotunda and flanking Academical Village at the University of Virginia

Monticello's vegetable gardens on the side of Jefferson's "little mountain"

Jefferson wrote the inscription on his tombstone. Note there is no mention of his holding the highest office in the United States, that of President; his proudest accomplishments are evident on this. (The family cemetery is on the grounds of Monticello and his descendants continue to be buried there)

The gardens were absolutely beautiful, and this is only a snapshot of the flowers
The most photographed view of Monticello, although it is the back side

Reflecting Upon the Past Week as an Intern

It is hard to develop recommendations for an area when you have never visited it before in your life. Coming to Danville, I had reservations about how I would be received by the locals with whom I would work. I knew that my colleagues at the Foundation office would be receptive to my ideas, but I was unsure about meeting local government officials, business leaders, and citizens who would be meeting with us about projects. Soon after arriving, I learned that the hospital sale which funded the Foundation was a very unpopular decision within the area; many people confused the Danville Regional Foundation with the foundation that was formerly part of the hospital. Because of these misunderstandings, people often misconstrue the purposes of our work or greet us with skepticism. Learning of these sentiments made me even more nervous about being in Danville. The culture here (as in many small towns) often makes little room for outsiders.

I was very happy, then, when I found out that we would be touring the area and meeting with some of our grantees at their various organizations. We would even be able to sample some of the local cuisine. Two days worth of “field trips” later, the ten of us had heard extensively about history-laden areas which date back to the American Revolution, seen visible results of DRF grants, met many of the local people, and tasted the local fare.

On Wednesday, we rode to Caswell County, North Carolina, a very historic and small place. Its approximately 20,000 inhabitants are scattered over many small “villages”, as they have been called. While Yanceyville is probably the largest of them all, there is no dominant city or town in the county. We were guided by a DRF board member, former state senator, and Caswell native, Mr. George Daniels. His lively storytelling and vast knowledge of the area left no detail out of the narrative. The day was made even more meaningful with lunch at the Yancey House, home to the namesake of Yanceyville, Bartlett Yancey, at the turn of the 19th century. There we were also given an earful of stories. The town’s history is intertwined in many of its current economic endeavors. I feel it should be one of its main economic development components.

Thursday brought us to a tour of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the Commonwealth’s largest county. We were overwhelmed by its 100 square miles and were not able to visit it all. In its few small towns, I felt very at home and could relate to their struggles and needs. The most interesting fact about Pittsylvania, and a definite break with Mississippi local government style, is that the city of Danville is an entirely separate entity located inside the county. In other words, city of Danville dwellers do not pay county taxes. Not in contrast with Mississippi was our midday meal: buffet-style, home cooking and C at E’s Restaurant. We were a worthless group of interns for the remainder of the day.

As far as projects are concerned, I am currently working on “Danville Competes,” an economic development project to re-brand this region, formerly heavily dependent on now defunct textile and tobacco mills. This is to be completed in a three week time span, so for now we are reading piles of reports compiled in the field. I am learning much about regional economic development policy and gaining an idea of what works and does not. As always, I am reading with my hometown in mind, and at times I overwhelm myself with the ideas going through my mind for Louisville. However, for now I am just appreciative for the opportunity to be exposed to this knowledge, and I hope that I can make a difference in this region before bringing my ideas back home.

Farmer's Markets Build Community

A farmer's market, while not a brand new idea, is just emerging as an idea in my hometown. I am in full support of it, for all people can find reason to support them. Whether people are farmers seeking economic benefits from their produce, individuals wanting the health benefits of fresh food, or community enthusiasts fostering a common meeting place and dialogue among citizens of the community, farmer's markets can serve a range of needs in a community.

Here in Danville, a community market, housed under the department of Parks and Recreation, is held every Saturday morning at 8. Last Saturday, my roommates and I were certain to check it out, as we are doing a lot of cooking and thought we could pick up some ingredients. However, I think we came away with much more than we bargained for, and we have been more than pleased with those items. Just a sample of our purchases include: asparagus, lettuce, homemade bread, chai tea mix, strawberries, a basil plant, and a thyme plant. I roasted the asparagus in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little herbs, and it was absolutely delicious. Below are a few pictures from the market, which is held in an old warehouse in the city's historic tobacco warehouse district.

Lauren buying homemade bread....

A magnolia bloom reminded me of Mississippi

Today is Election Day!

Ok Ok, so I realize its not the "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November" or whatever, but it is the day of the city, general elections in my hometown. Which makes me extremely excited. When I was at home for a stint, we had two primary elections. It was my younger sister's first time to vote, ever, so we infused a little fun into the process by taking this picture outside of the polls (try to ignore the fact that that is a tacky flashing arrow sign). Today, if you're in Louisville, or any other city holding elections, please vote. Our leadership is so vital to the success of small towns. Will Hill for Mayor!!