Community In Action
2009
Panhandle Twenty/20 continues to find ways to be a catalyst for positive change in the community. It also continues its efforts to help improve educational attainment levels in the region.
2008
The Panhandle Twenty/20 board studied several topics throughout the year, including The State of the Family and environment issues including recycling and future water availability in the region. They also hosted a seminar in conjunction with DEMOS, entitled Making the Case for Government: A workshop on re-framing how we talk about government, taxes and public programs in Texas, inviting local officials to participate.
October 2008
Panhandle Twenty/20, Amarillo College, Celebrate Education and the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce host Developing the Workforce of the Future conference, with speakers Dr. Karl Eschbach, Texas State Demographer, and Tom Pauken, Chair of the Texas Workforce Commission, who discussed current and future workforce and demographic trends for the Panhandle and Texas. At this event, Panhandle Twenty/20 released its report, A Community in Action, highlighting some of the implementation activities related to improving educational attainment in the region.
January 2008
The Amarillo Globe News and partners launch Celebrate Education, a program focused on raising awareness and developing solutions to help improve regional levels of educational attainment. Celebrate Education is continuing through 2009!
September 2007
Panhandle Twenty/20 releases its first report, The Panhandle Imperative: Economic Implications of Educational Attainment in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. Dr. Mike Moses is the keynote speaker at a community release at the Globe News Center for the Performing Arts.
October 2006—April 2007
Russell Lowery-Hart facilitates numerous community meetings chaired by Alice O’Brien and Roy Bara, focused on studying issues related to educational attainment; recommendations are formed by the committee. Over 300 dedicated community volunteers participated in the study.
August 2006
Dr. Hallmark takes over as Board Chair so Ms. Carlisle can coordinate Panhandle Twenty/20's first in-depth community study on the economic implications of educational attainment, sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, AC, AISD, and WTAMU.
May 2006
The Panhandle Twenty/20 Board hosted Ben Warner from the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc., to learn about their very successful civic engagement and community problem-solving process. Each year JCCI identifies one or two problems facing their city and undertake an in-depth study to identify solutions. JCCI also developed the Community Indicators process to look at trends over time in their area. The Panhandle Twenty/20 Board liked the JCCI model, and decided to undertake a similar approach to solving our communities’ problems.
January 2006
Panhandle Twenty/20 board member and Amarillo City Commissioner Paul Harpole brought together the leadership of local government and educational entities in order to share plans and information--a first for our area.
January 2006
Panhandle Twenty/20 and the Amarillo Area Foundation sponsored Dr. Suzanne Morse, Executive Director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, for a Smart Communities workshop, attended by several hundred at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Fall 2005
Panhandle Twenty/20 received a much-needed boost when the Amarillo Area Foundation committed to provide some staffing support for the fledgling initiative. Charlotte Rhodes was brought in as the Vice-President for Regional Planning, and part of her charge was to assist Panhandle Twenty/20. With Charlotte's help, a new expanded Board of Directors was put into place in October 2005, complete with by-laws and regular meetings. Anette Carlisle was Chair, and James Hallmark was Vice-Chair. Education, economy, health, livability, and civic engagement/government responsiveness were the categories of community issues they decided to explore.
2004-2005
Several small groups were formed to look at collaboration, livability, and inclusiveness, but though much discussion occurred, there was little traction to move Twenty/20 forward to action. The Steering Committee continued to have many discussions behind the scenes.
September 2003
The Steering Committee organized and presented a day-long community event called: Panhandle Twenty/20...Focusing on the Future with presenters Dr. Steven Murdock, State Demographer, Kirk Humphreys, Oklahoma City Mayor, and John Stevens, Texas Business and Education Coalition CEO. Several hundred community members came together, listened and learned, and then participated in break-out groups generating issues for further study. The word "demographics" was heard regularly in the community in the ensuing months.
2002
The question began to be asked, "Who is trying to understand and plan for our future?" The next question was, "Whose job is it, to plan for our future?" The answer was, "Everyone, and no one." It seemed that the organizations really thinking long term in a more comprehensive manner than most were probably the educational institutions. A steering committee informally came together to explore this question. (The steering committee had representatives from the Amarillo Area Foundation, the Bivins Foundation, West Texas A&M University, Amarillo College, Amarillo ISD, the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, and Amarillo National Bank, among others.)
We look forward to working with all who are interested in making our community a better place!
~compiled by Gary Pitner and Anette Carlisle