Note: over the next few weeks, we will be posting some of the feedback gathered during the discussion following Richard Florida's March 18th, 2003 talk in Fort Wayne. The following is the fourth of these questions posed. View responses and leave yours by clicking on the 'Comments' link below. Please check back regularly to view more.
How would you describe the essence of Fort Wayne?
Responses from the group discussions that evening:
- Small town ever living in the shadow of Indianapolis.
- Great place to raise a family.
- Park system is fantastic.
- Cultural hub for Northeast Indiana and its recreational opportunities at lakes.
- Big small town. Small enough to get around but close enough to big cities.
- Easy to get from one place to another.
- Different activities here, has to find and seek them out.
- Hot bed of creativity and inventiveness has lost most of critical mass, needs to celebrate that history.
- Take our cultures for granted.
-More resources for the community should be developed at IPFW. This university [IPFW] will strengthen the appeal of Fort Wayne.
- Islands or pockets of innovation and creativity disconnected from one another but in search of networking
Posted by Admin at April 4, 2003 04:58 PMI agree, IPFW does need to be more developed. A lot of great things could come out of their art department (like creativity) if they got it together over there.
Posted by: Beckie Stockert at April 4, 2003 06:43 PMDon't forget about University of Saint Francis. There is incredible energy being generated by the art department there under the guidance of Rick Cartwright.
The Broadway corridor is on the verge of establishing a creative and diverse atmosphere. I would welcome any suggestions on what people would like to see happen along Broadway.
Posted by: Jim Jur at April 4, 2003 08:51 PMWindsong Pictures, a non-profit organization, will hold a film festival in May. Does the city recognize and understand this organization? It has achieved a great deal of progress already involving hundreds of locals, especially youth. Imagine its potential.
A fresh, new approach to most arts organizations needs to be taken.
Posted by: Thomas L. Kaough at April 5, 2003 02:15 PMThis is great! We need more postings here. Now all we need to do is PROMOTE this stuff so more people know about it and realize that Fort Wayne isn't so "boring."
Posted by: Beckie Stockert at April 7, 2003 08:21 AMHere is the website for the Windsong Film Festival, coming this May to Elmhurst High School & Cinema Center: http://www.windsongpictures.com/html/main.html
Posted by: Karen Goldner at April 7, 2003 09:04 AMA sprawling (too much), conservative, family-oriented community that is full of things to do.
Posted by: Bruce Lehman at April 8, 2003 11:42 AMEssence of Ft Wayne — Big enough to offer variety, small enough to foster community.
Posted by: Tom Hufford at April 15, 2003 09:24 AMCurrently the "essence" of Fort Wayne is that it resists change in almost all areas. This is a negative "essence" and MUST be dealt with before any other "essence" can take its place. While I'm sure that the group is searching for positive responses, we cannot ignore the truth and history. If the limited access highway had been constructed after WWII, if we had adopted Unigov as Indy did in the 1970s, if we has built the new sports arena downtown...
These are but a few examples of the anti-change attitude or "essence" of Fort Wayne. We can only change or fix what we understand to be broken. The real question is how do we get from the negative to the positive. How do we combat the "brain drain" not just in Fort Wayne, but statewide? When we begin to deal with the real and underlying issues we can then address some of the concepts presented by Richard Florida.
Creative people are the lifeblood of our industry (advertising and marketing). I've been in this business in Fort Wayne for 30 years. We DO NOT have the same level of resources and talent here that we did in the 1970s and 1980s. New talent doesn't want to work in Indiana, much less Fort Wayne when Chicago is so close. They don't find their peers in Fort Wayne and very few in Indy.
So, how do we go forward? By identifying the real issues and coming up with real answers. The time for kumbayah marketing is over.
Posted by: Tom Mattern at April 23, 2003 01:07 PM