What's The Secret Ingredient?

Way down in the Southern west corner of Georgia sits a small town named Colquitt, with big dreams, and no limits.  I had the pleasure of visiting Colquitt with a population of 2000, not much bigger than Montezuma, attending a conference called, "Building Creative Communities, The Art of Storytelling, Community Building & Social Change."  It's taken me some time to digest all that I received from attending. In addition to the warmth of the Southern sunshine, a much welcome break from our winter here in Central New York, and their genuine southern hospitality, I felt a warmth that went beyond the sunshine. It was the heart and soul of a town alive that had been miraculously transformed. The air tingled with it;  you seen it in the smiles on their faces; and you heard and were touched by their voices as they humbly expressed from their hearts pride for their community.

What makes this town so special?  What is their secret? They learned how to think outside the box. The box that had them trapped in thinking the same old way. They changed from thinking of themselves as a place limited with nothing  (no-thing) to seeing what they already possessed and could tap into. The pride they have today was earned by breaking down barriers of the "norm" that was only supporting more of the status quo and coming into their greatness through their greatest resource --  the people.

According to Karen Kimbrel, one of the conference coordinators in a book published about Colquitt's progress, "What makes this community different from other small rural communities in the U.S. is the magic ingredient -- Creativity. Creative communities are different from traditional community and economic development models because creative communities rely on human potential, knowledge and capabilities as opposed to tangible goods and deliverable services. Also, rather than being physical place-focused, they are about human spirit......When creative projects enter the picture, people establish new and exciting networks to obtain social and economic entrees where before only walls existed preventing entrance." That is a powerful statement that comes from a new perspective of empowering people to use their own inborn gifts to create community.

So, Karen has given us the secret ingredient -- creativity.  We have people -- so we have creativity. The question becomes how can we go beyond the "norm," or have we become too comfortable or numb to the status quo?  Can we shake the box open a little and peak in to see what's possible. Karen said, "if Colquitt could do it, any town can." I'm going to hang on to that statement. What I came away with most from the conference was hope, because they helped me recognize and see what is possible. Thank you Colquitt!