Update–April 28, 2009

The relative silence on this site is largely a product of work in progress.  The work groups (about 10 of them) continue to refine plans for each major category of events and initiatives the whole committee has identified as being worth pursuing. The body of work is impressive, the level of effort moreso.  I have consolidated the project statements for each work group into a single document, and post it under Committee Documents (“Summary of Proposed Programming for the Sesquicentennial”).  I refer you to that for a summary of each element of the region’s observance.  We have also put together a tentative schedule for the entire Sesquicentennial. This is NOT intended for distribution, but is intended to offer ideas on how individual programs might be grouped to make for identifiable “event” weekends that can serve both the community and visitors. 

Comments and ideas are welcome.

October 23, 2008 Meeting

Thanks to all of you who attended last Thursday’s meeting of the committee at Chatham. Thanks too for all your work on the work groups, which, every one, produced important and useful work.

Posted here are the notes of the meeting, with a more complete list of projects. I have, as promised, separated the projects into two general groups: those that the committee will need to undertake on its own initiative, and those for which the committee will need to provide recruitment (i.e. engage another organization to do it), collaboration, and support. It was the consensus of the group that virtually everything on this finalized list is worth pursuing. If anyone feels otherwise, then please let me know and we will address the issue at the next meeting. If I hear no objections, I will go ahead and fold the project list into the Action Plan…..

Given that the 4th Thursday in November is Thanksgiving, we’ll move our next meeting to December 4. I’ll let you know about a location.

At our next, we have three major tasks:

- Finalize the list and assign members to work teams for each project–all on a volunteer basis (each of you picks your projects). Bear in mind, that there is no way our committee can do all the work needed to get all these programs or initiatives moving forward. We have to reach out to others–non-members–to help. If a particular project has no one to carry its mail, then that project will not move forward. Prior to the next meeting, please give some thought to the projects you might be most interested in working on–and those to which you can make the biggest contribution.

- Settle on the members of the Committee for Review, Support, and Coordination and how that committee will function. Its major tasks will be to review projects for inclusion under the 150th banner, provide coordination with local governments and the statewide Sesquicentennial Commission, outreach to the press, and seek funding for important initiatives.

- Charge the standing committee on African-American history and programs with getting started–acting as both advocate and resource, working to reach out to the African-American Community, and ensuring the Sesquicentennial Observance hereabouts adequately addresses the stories and places associated with slavery, struggle, and freedom.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

September 4, 2008 Meeting

Despite the absence of the Redskins fans that populate the committee, we had a very good meeting last night (I think I can say with some certainty that those of us sitting in the meeting enjoyed our time between 7 p.m. and 8:30 more than the Redskins fans sitting at home did).  We settled on a working list of proposals for projects, programs, and initiatives that will be carried forward for further evaluation, and we established a process by which that evaluation will take place.  Please read the meeting notes carefully.  They are posted as the “Draft Action Plan–meeting notes…,” under “Meeting Notes.”  Also, please refresh yourself on the goals, mission, and themes that will guide the committee’s work (these are articulated in the Sesquicentennial Plan, which, you will note, is growing as the committee does its work).  We will refer back to these often as we look at ideas for programming.  It’s posted under “Committee Documents.”

The next six weeks will be consumed with meetings of work groups charged with winnowing down our rather long list into a firm action plan we can push along.  Those work groups will be charged with reporting back (both verbally and in a short written summary) at our October 23 meeting.  There will be no meeting of the larger committee on September 25.  Rather, we will reserve the date and the space (to be confirmed with the city, but assume it’s so unless  you hear otherwise) for use by working groups.  The task of these work groups is vital.

I will be sending out work group assignments early next week, including a nominal chair charged with organizing meetings and coordinating the response back to the larger committee.

Once we have a final list of projects, programs, and initiatives, committee members will be free to pick and choose what they work on. 

It’s a pleasure to work with all of you.  I sense no abatement in the energy and commitment of the group thus far…though it remains to be seen what effect a losing season by the Redskins will have on the effectiveness of the group…..

July 31, 2008 Meeting

Thank you all who attended last night’s meeting.  I have posted the rather raw lists of ideas we generated under committee documents.  Remember, there is no sunset on good ideas–they are always welcome.

Once I am back from vacation, I’ll start working on grouping these, incorporating any new concepts, and generally getting the list ready for discussion at our next meeting.

Remember, our next meeting is set for Thursday, September 4, at 7 p.m.–again at the City Visitor Center on Caroline Street.  We will review any new ideas and then start setting priorities and, hopefully, some work groups to discuss how we make these things happen.

Beyond next meeting, we will be meeting every fourth Thursday…

Again, many thanks for your efforts and energy.  Don’t be shy about sharing ideas by leaving a comment. 

I’ll be away until August 14.

Welcome

Welcome to what we hope will be an exciting, ongoing conversation about the evolution of planning for the Fredericksburg-Stafford-Spotsylvania region’s observance of the Sesquicentennial.  We will use this site to post materials, share ideas, provide notification of meetings, and ensure coordination between the efforts of various groups and jurisdictions.   While at first, much of this site will focus on the work of the Fredericksburg-Stafford Committee for the Sesquicentennial (Spotsylvania has its own committee, though we hope they will join in this online effort to communicate and coordinate), we hope over time to also the public in what’s in the works for the 150th.

This is not a public site–that is, we have not put it into search engines.  But you can access it and comment on it freely. 

Our next meeting is Thursday July 31, at 7 p.m. at the Fredericksburg city Visitor Center at 706 Caroline Street (where 64 Fredericksburg civilians were taken after they were arrested by Union authorities in May 1864–in retaliation for local civilians sending wounded Union soldiers from the Wilderness to prison in Richmond).  This will be a pure brainstorming session.

Look to the right under “Committee Documents” for revised digital copies of the handouts from the meeting on the 15th.

We will circulate a contact list for committee members by email rather than posting it online.