All communities have difficulties
viewing their surrounding as others – customers, visitors, potential residents,
and potential businesses – see them. Our
views are skewed by over-familiarization, a lack of differing perspectives,
expectations, and a reluctance to be completely honest with our neighbors when
dealing with difficult issues, such as the appearance of buildings, customer
service, and the maintenance of public facilities.
Recently
a volunteer team from another community of similar size made a visit to Cheney
to report their “First Impressions” of the community. The team acted as “secret shoppers” for the
day to discover what they could about Cheney.
They followed a set procedure established through the “First
Impressions” program and documented their results.
These
results will be shared at a public meeting on Thursday, December 5, 2019
at 7 pm at Cheney High School
Auditorium. Following the presentation,
two or three project areas will be identified and time will be allowed for
discussion and initial planning.
Everyone is encouraged to attend to learn how a visitor sees your
community.
“First
Impressions” is a program developed by K-State Research and Extension through
the Community Vitality program. The
focus of the program is to help communities learn about existing strengths and
weaknesses through the eyes of visitor.
The results from a “First Impressions” visit can serve as the basis for
community action and as a way to document changes in a community over time.
For
further information about the meeting on December 5th, 2019, contact
Danielle Young at 316-542-3622.