Village Square Hosts Speed Date Town Hall

Village Square Press Release

Maybe you’ve never tried it yourself, but everyone’s heard of speed dating. First offered by an Israeli rabbi to help Jewish singles find love, now there’s Christian speed dating, graduate student speed dating, even speed dating for pet adoption and — for the truly noncommittal — online speed dating. 

But never before has there been civic speed dating.  

At a time when interactions between citizens and their government are either increasingly hostile or practically non-existent, it’s probably past time for a little matchmaking (think community building not romance).

On Wednesday evening April 3rd citizens have the unusual opportunity to “Speed Date Your Local Leaders” — enjoying pizza and chatting informally with commissioners, the police chief, the superintendent of schools, and other important community leaders.  

Leaders will rotate from table to table every seven minutes, offering each group of participants an opportunity to ask questions or offer ideas that might never have rated a phone call or public testimony, but are the grist of good citizenship and good governance nonetheless.
Presented in partnership with Leadership Tallahassee, the forum continues the ongoing OUR TOWN series of local issue forums offered by The Village Square, devoted to building civic trust between people who don’t look or think alike. The project is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Fund at the Community Foundation of North Florida. The Knight Foundation supports innovative ideas to create informed and engaged communities nationwide.

Leaders scheduled to appear include, from the City of Tallahassee: Mayor John Dailey, Mayor Pro-Tem Curtis Richardson, Commissioner Jack Porter; from Leon County Government: Commissioner Carolyn Cummings (??Chair), Commissioner Rick Minor, Commissioner Brian Welch, Commissioner David O’Keefe; Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell, Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna, Supervisor of Elections Leon County Mark Earley, Community Foundation of North Florida President & CEO Katrina Rolle, Director of the Office of Economic Vitality Tallahassee/Leon County Keith Bowers, Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CSWG) Director Stephanie Shumate, Council on Culture & Arts (COCA) Executive Director Kathleen Spehar.

The Wednesday, April 3rd program is from 6-8 pm at the Goodwood Carriage House, 1600 Miccosukee Rd., Tallahassee, FL 32308. It is free and open to the public, though a reservation is required.  Pizza and drinks will be provided at no charge.

For more information, a list of participating officials, or to RSVP, go online to https://tlh.villagesquare.us/ or email Kate@villagesquare.us. Space is limited.

About The Village Square: Founded 17 years ago in Tallahassee, The Village Square is building the town hall of the 21^st century across societal divisions that are tearing communities apart.