Plymouth-Canton October 2009

The Plymouth Canton Community for Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Planning Team called their first community meeting on October 29, 2009. This meeting was to update the community on the progress of the strategic plan. Fifteen members of the Strategic Planning team met for over 3 months every week to write a vision, goals and specific action steps to the five working groups more general recommendations.

Attendance at the event was filled to capacity. Individual team members shared their stories of what this work means to them. ReGina Shamberger, a strategic planner, made a passionate statement about how she is involved so her community will someday soon have more people of color involved in government and township employment. ReGina has been a resident of Canton for more than 25 years with her husband Jeff.

Many different stakeholders were present at the event including the local governments, law enforcement, school officials, teachers, and local media representatives. Naren Balasubramaniam, the facilitator for the night, pledged to the stakeholders that the strategic planners will be contacting them for a sit down appointment to review the current plan and to discuss what they can do to support inclusion in the Plymouth and Canton community.

The event was a great success. Folks left reenergized and ready to start some action steps towards inclusion in their community. Finally, Adrienne Davis of Plymouth Township, a member of the team, was recently elected to a school board seat for the Plymouth Canton Community School District. Congratulations Adrienne. This is a victory for everyone in the community who values diversity and inclusion.