Working out solutions: heart and soul of it
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Editor,
Recently I attended a Polson “Heart & Soul” planning meeting for the important and vital “Polson Heart & Soul Community Values Summit” later this fall, something we all should put on our calendars. The “Heart & Soul” project is part of the Greater Polson Community Foundation, Penny Jarecki, president, in cooperation with the City of Polson. Polson’s “Heart & Soul” project, coordinated by Daniel and Darlis Smith, was launched from a $100,000 grant, two years ago, from the Orton Family Foundation. Officially called “Heart & Soul Community Planning Grant,” the money is used to “change the way small cities and towns engage their citizens and plan for the future.”
This meeting was for planning the upcoming community-wide meeting in which we can all not only learn the results of the last two years work, but also participate. Just as “it takes a community to raise a child,” it also “takes everyone’s input and ideas to grow a community.”
This is what community is all about. Most of us are very good at seeing a problem and complaining, but not so good at sitting down with others, who may have opposing views, and working out solutions which are ultimately better than either person’s dearly held positions. But that is what is needed. The many people in and around Polson who participated in the 19 “Polson Heart & Soul Neighborhood Gatherings” this past year experienced this and know this.
There is much that is being done in and around Polson by individuals and groups to help take care of specific needs. But is there collaboration? Is there sharing of information? Is there a feeling of community togetherness? Is Polson a community where the religious, economic, social, and political elements actually interact and work for the good of the whole? These, it seems to me, are questions we should be asking and thinking about if our community has meaning for us.
Our total involvement is important. Want more information? Contact Heart & Soul at (406) 270-8258 or email:
polsonheartsoul@montanasky.net.
Bob McClellan
Polson
