I had the privilege to present along side Eugene Weeks and Mark Turner, two outstanding community leaders, at today’s Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange. The neighborhood exchange was held on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at the McKimmon Conference Center and is a chance for citizens across Raleigh to interact, attend a variety of sessions, and share information. My favorite part is the cross-pollination and idea swapping that occurs. It’s a vibrant event where neighbors learn from each other, then take these ideas and apply them to their individual neighborhoods.
Eugene Weeks talked about getting feet on the street, meeting neighbors, and implementing a yard of the month that motivated his neighbors to spruce up their yards. He walked attendees through some “low tech” ways that allows his community to thrive. they use yard signs to attrach people to their meetings. Block captains help distribute flyers. Weeks said that one way to motivate is to have people spread the word. Folks tell people: “you missed a good meeting” or “aren’t you concerned about crime?” (more…)

