January 2018 Chamber Chatter January Newsletter 2018 | Page 6

COMMUNITY
Leadership Shelby County projects
to improve the community
S
ince 1988, Leadership Shelby
County has brought together
hundreds of adult leaders.
These graduates of Leadership Shelby
County go on to use their expertise
and experience in local companies,
become active members of our civic and
charitable organizations and lead our
local government agencies to enhance our
community at all levels. With over 400
alumni, this program has had a significant
community impact. The current LSC
class has 20 students under the direction
of Jason Chenoweth, Facilitator and
Stephanie Duerstock, Coordinator.
During each class year, the students
are separated in groups to complete a
group project to improve the community
in some way. This year’s class has three
different projects; Young Professionals
of Shelby County, Activate an Alley, and
creating a Dog Park.
Young Professionals of
Shelby County
The purpose of YPSC is to bring
together the young professionals of
Shelby County in a fun, but healthy,
career-oriented environment. This will
include, but will not be limited to,
hosting various social activities/events,
community outreach and other avenues
for business relationships or career
opportunities. Ideally, they would like
to be an umbrella organization under
the Chamber, specifically geared toward
young professionals, with a minimum
age limit to join. They also intend to
fund this project with the help of local
sponsorships and will eventually charge
membership dues.
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Activate an
Alley
Communities
across the
country are
starting to
invest in alleys
and turn them
into walkable,
creative,
entertaining
areas. This group
would like to
“activate” the
alley between
Washington
Street and Franklin Street, just one block
from the public square. Their vision is to
clean up this space and make it a place to
gather; add overhead lighting, tables and
chairs, paint a wall mural and add other
artistic touches.
The group believes it will encourage
both residents and visitors to visit
Shelbyville’s downtown. When businesses
are looking for a place to build we would
be able to show them that Shelbyville is
creating spaces that would appeal to
potential residents. Millennials place a
high value on what communities offer and
they believe this would attract and retain
younger generations.
Dog Park
As Shelbyville continues to grow many
dog owners are looking for a place to
spend quality time with their pets. This
group would like to create a dog park
near the Shelbyville downtown area where
residents can do exactly that. This park
would offer fencing, separate double-
gated entry and exits, benches, trees for
shade, parking close to the park, baggies
to pick up and dispose of animal waste,
covered trash cans, maintenance and
cleaning of the park. The park would
provide social, physical and mental,
educational and community advantages.
It would provide an excellent source of
social interaction between both dogs and
people and allows dogs to get physical
and mental exercise. It would provide
opportunities for owners to learn about
dogs through observation and become
chamberchatter
January 2018