FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2012

THE VILLAGE SQUARE CONTINUES ‘OUR TOWN’ SERIES
‘Fast Forward’ Forum Focuses on New Development, Projects and Ideas

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – May 1, 2012 – Hometowns with a “sense of place” are vibrant, engaged, growing and economically successful. They are places people want to live and raise families. There are new reasons every day why this describes Tallahassee.

On Monday, May 7, The Village Square hosts “OUR TOWN: Fast Forward,” a spirited look at what’s new and what’s coming in Tallahassee.

Co-sponsored by Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI), Leadership Tallahassee, the Tallahassee Democrat and Access Tallahassee, “Fast Forward” will be fast-paced. Five presentations follow a PechaKucha format (Japanese for “chit chat”) with a maximum of 20 slides that advance automatically after 20 seconds. There will be a question-and-answer segment for each topic, moderated by City Commissioner Gil Ziffer, and a lightening round for the audience to share information about new projects, ideas, events and even restaurants around town.

The evening will feature a discussion on Cascades Park and the citizen-led KCCI project “Cultivate Cascades.” This initiative seeks to ensure that visitors are drawn into the park through a variety of diverse activities held throughout the first year.

City Manager Anita Favors Thompson and County Administrator Vince Long will highlight the latest in town from the perspective of city and county governments. Also presenting are Ed Murray of TALCOR on Midtown, and Access Tallahassee on the top ten best new things in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Democrat with share ten ideas – things that could happen in our town if we made them happen.

The program is part of The Village Square’s “Our Town” series, aimed at growing an informed and engaged community. The series is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation through the Community Foundation of North Florida.

“Our Town: Fast Forward” will be held Monday, May 7 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 211 N. Monroe Street (enter at rear Calhoun Street entrance). It is free and open to the public. Participants are asked to make a reservation and to present their printed ticket at the door, as space is limited.

Participants may bring a take-out dinner to enjoy during the forum or purchase dinner at one of three food trucks parked outside St. John’s from 5 to 5:45pm. Paisley Café’s Nutella Bread Pudding and coffee will be provided for dessert.

Those who are unable to attend can watch the program livestream at www.tallahassee.com or follow an online discussion on Twitter, hashtag #vsq.

For more information, to see a full list of program participants, or to RSVP and print your ticket, go to www.tothevillagesquare.org, or call 264-8785.

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(Click here to reserve your seat)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2012

STATE EXPERTS ADDRESS FLORIDA’S ECONOMIC CRISIS AND RECOVERY
Former Florida CFO Alex Sink and Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Mark Wilson to Headline Panel

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – April 23, 2012 – There are few places the economic crisis hit home harder than in the Sunshine State. On Tuesday, April 24, two leaders in Florida’s business and economic landscape will join The Village Square for an important conversation about how our state has responded and what still needs to be done.

Former Florida CFO Alex Sink and Florida Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark Wilson will share their perspectives on how the crisis is playing out in Florida, what innovations are still needed to ensure Florida’s economic future, and what roles government and private business play in tackling the challenges ahead.

Sink, the 2010 Democratic nominee for Florida governor, is the founding chair of the board of the FloridaNEXT Foundation, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, dedicated to empowering young people, entrepreneurs and small businesses so they can drive the innovation needed to enhance Florida’s economy and quality of life. Find FloridaNEXT online at www.floridanext.org.

Wilson spearheads the Florida Chamber’s efforts to lead Florida to a new and sustainable economy. As the voice of business, the Florida Chamber’s efforts to secure Florida’s future include solutions, action and leadership centering around the Florida Chamber Foundation, the Florida Chamber’s Political Operations and the Florida Chamber’s advocacy efforts. The Florida Chamber of Commerce can be found online at www.floridachamber.com.

Also joining the conversation is Don Winstead, a public policy expert who was responsible for overseeing and tracking the distribution of Florida’s federal stimulus dollars for Governor Charlie Crist. Dr. Carol Weissert, Director of Florida State University’s LeRoy Collins Institute, will moderate.

“Wall Street, Main Street (and whatever happened to) Easy Street” will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, at 211 North Monroe in downtown Tallahassee from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A limited number of scholarship tickets are available. For more information or to purchase tickets, go online to www.tothevillagesquare.org or call 850-590-6646.

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For Immediate Release
February 13, 2012

THE VILLAGE SQUARE LAUNCHES ‘OUR TOWN’ FORUM SERIES
Leadership Tallahassee and Tallahassee Democrat partner in local leadership forum

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – February 13, 2012 – If you want to participate in civic life in Tallahassee but aren’t interested in preparing a three-minute speech for a commission meeting, what options do you have? This Thursday night, February 16, citizens will have a rare opportunity to talk over pizza with both Tallahassee City Commissioners and Leon County Commissioners.

“OUR TOWN: Local Leadership Forum” is the first in an ongoing series of unique local issues forums being launched by The Village Square, a nonprofit formed by local leaders – from both sides of the political divide – to improve the civility and factual accuracy of civic dialogue. The series is part of a grant funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Fund at the Community Foundation of North Florida to foster an informed, engaged community. Read all »

For Immediate Release
February 2, 2012

TWO EVENTS FOCUS ON CHANGES, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE OF JOURNALISM
CNBC’s John Harwood to speak at Florida State University and The Village Square;joined by leaders in Florida’s media landscape

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – February 2, 2012 – In just a few short years, everything has changed about how we get our information, and John Harwood, CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent, is coming to Tallahassee to talk about it. Harwood will share his views on the changes, challenges and future of journalism as the featured speaker at two February 7 events in Tallahassee. Read all »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Christine White, Associate Director
The Village Square
Phone: 850.590-6646
christine@tothevillagesquare.org

CIVIL RIGHTS VETERANS TO HEADLINE VILLAGE SQUARE FORUM ON CIVILITY

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – July 11, 2011 — He was only 16, but Henry Steele still remembers the 1960s civil rights protests in Tallahassee like they were yesterday. And Steele will draw upon his memory of those events – and what it was like to be the youngest person sent to jail – at a special forum on Sunday, July 10 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Young Actors Theatre (YAT) on Glenview Drive.

The forum, “Civil Rights, Civil Means: Tallahassee’s Protests at 50; Why They Still Matter,” is being sponsored by The Village Square. This public event is part of a unique “double feature” which includes YAT’s 7:30 p.m. production of “Hairspray,” a Broadway musical set in the early 1960s with a racial integration theme.

Village Square Executive Director Liz Joyner believes there is “more than just a “history lesson” in having Steele and fellow civil rights veteran, Laura Dixie, tell their stories at the forum.

“The Tallahassee civil rights protests aren’t just a meaningful moment in our hometown’s history,” Joyner says. “They have everything to do with where we find ourselves as a country today.”

Joyner finds it remarkable that the Tallahassee civil rights protesters not only tackled one of the most difficult problems our city has ever faced, but they did so with the kind of civility that the Village Square wants to encourage in our day.

“This is a great model for how to address conflict in a civil and constructive way,” Joyner says. “We’d be making a mistake to let this anniversary pass without learning from these civil rights leaders.”

Among those joining Steele and Dixie at the forum will be Representative Alan Williams, who has worked to keep the memory of these protests alive, and LaCrai Mitchell, a recent Godby High graduate who serves on the local civil rights sidewalk commemoration committee.

“This forum will be a great opportunity for area students to come and learn about an important part of Tallahassee’s history,” says Bill Mattox, the event’s moderator. “But it will also be a great time for all of us to consider how we can work together to solve thorny problems today.”

The forum is free and open to the public. Young Actors Theatre tickets are sold separately.

For more information about the Village Square forum, call: 590-6646 or online at www.tothevillagesquare.org. For tickets to “Hairspray,” which runs from July 8th through July 24th, call: 386-6602 x 2 or get more information online at www.youngactorstheatre.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2011

Media Contact:
Liz Joyner
Executive Director
The Village Square
Phone: 850.264.8785

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE VILLAGE SQUARE HOST EVENTS TO EXPLORE THE DEEPENING PARTISAN DIVIDE

Author of “The Big Sort: How the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart” will speak two consecutive nights in Tallahassee

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – February 1, 2011 – Pulitzer Prize finalist Bill Bishop didn’t set out to study partisanship in America until he stumbled on something peculiar while researching the economics of communities across America.

In 1976, less than a quarter of Americans lived in places where the presidential election was a landslide. By 2004, nearly half of all voters lived in landslide counties. Americans had been moving close to other Americans who voted just like they voted. Bishop’s research ultimately showed that in those years “unnoticed, people had been reshaping the way they lived.

Americans were forming tribes, not only in their neighborhoods but also in churches and volunteer groups. That’s not the way people would describe what they were doing, but in every comer of society, people were creating new, more homogeneous relations.”

Given these demographic trends, a deepening political divide may have been inevitable, as social psychologists have studied like-minded groups and could predict that people living and worshiping in homogeneous groups would grow more extreme in their thinking over time.

Bishop will explain the phenomena of “The Big Sort” and its relevance to our current civic and political challenges at two events in Tallahassee – Monday, February 7 and Tuesday, February 8.

On February 7, Bishop will speak at Florida State University’s Globe Auditorium at the Center for Global Engagement as part of the FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy “Laird B. Anderson and Florence H. Ashby Lectureship on Public Policy Journalism.” The event is from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM, with a brief reception following until 9. It is free and open to the public, with no reservations required. The event is co-sponsored by Uphold the Garnet and Gold and The Center for Leadership and Civic Education.

On February 8, Bishop will be the featured speaker at The Village Square’s Dinner at the Square from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM with an optional extended discussion until 8:30 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 N. Monroe St. Joining the conversation – facilitated by Steve Seibert of the Collins Center for Public Policy – is former Democratic Representative Loranne Ausley; Sally Bradshaw, senior advisor to the Republican Party of Florida and a member of Governor Rick Scott’s Transition Advisory Panel; Dr. Ann Henderson, Director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida; and Rod Petrey, President of the Collins Center and recently named “Floridian of the Year” by Florida Trend.

Dinner will be catered by St. John’s Episcopal Church Lively Cafe. Tickets are $25 through Sunday, February 6, and $35 after. A limited number of scholarship tickets are available.

In conjunction with the event, The Village Square is inviting Tallahassee residents to participate in “Lunch Across the Aisle,” a project to undo “The Big Sort.” Participants become eligible for a drawing for free Dinner at the Square tickets.

For information on both events, “Lunch Across the Aisle,” speaker biographies, dinner tickets and a menu, go online to www.tothevillagesquare.org or call 850-590-6646.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

October 18, 2010

CONTACT: Ron Sachs
Zoe Sharron
850.222.1996

The Village Square feels your pain: Offers election season citizens’ survival guide

Find the guide online here.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tired of low‐rent political advertisements that make you hurl objects at the television set? Bored with the finger‐pointing, whining, squabbling, temper tantrums and gotcha games? Got indigestion from one too many robocall from Bill Clinton or John McCain during dinner? Perhaps all this has you looking for the “none of the above” box at the voting booth. Or maybe you’ve just given up hoping for something different.

It’s election season and the assaults to our values, intelligence and patience are out again in full force. If you’re among the majority of Americans who feel the tone of our civic conversation sounds like five‐year‐olds at recess (with no offense to five-year‐olds), nonpartisan Tallahassee nonprofit The Village Square offers you their “2010 Citizen’s Election Season Survival Guide.”

Filled with tips to save your sanity (while you improve your citizenship and get a new spring in your step), this guide will become your indispensible companion as you dream of making it past Tuesday, Nov. 2nd without losing your temper, sanity or
belief in democracy.

WHAT: The Village Square’s “2010 Citizens’ Election Season Survival Guide”

WHERE: Florida Press Center, 336 E. College Ave., Ste. 100
Tallahassee, FL 32301

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010
10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

WHO: The Village Square, including board co‐chairs:
Republican County Commissioner Bryan Desloge and
Democratic City Commissioner Gil Ziffer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2010

Media Contact:
Liz Joyner
Executive Director
The Village Square
Phone: 850.264.8785
liz@tothevillagesquare.org

THE VILLAGE SQUARE HOSTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 101; PREVIEWS “WE THE WIKI” ONLINE DEMOCRACY

Collins Center for Public Policy, Florida TaxWatch and League of Women Voters of Tallahassee co-host 3 evening series on amendments and “State of the State”

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – October 7, 2010 — On three consecutive Tuesday nights beginning October 12, The Village Square leads a diverse group of community organizations offering a painless way to learn about constitutional amendments on November’s ballot.

“Constitutional Amendments 101” invites attendees to bring their favorite take-out dinner and a drink while they listen to pros and cons on each amendment from experts, both sides of each debate. All events are free and open to the public.

Citizens can also learn about the amendments, as well as contribute their own information and opinion on diverse civic issues using The Village Square’s new online tool “We the Wiki.” The wiki, fully editable by users, was created as a part of the project that won a highly nationally competitive John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant to create informed and engaged communities. Find “We the Wiki” online at http://www.wiki.tothevillagesquare.org.

The “Take-out Tuesday” series on the amendments is co-sponsored by Collins Center for Public Policy, Florida TaxWatch and League of Women Voters of Tallahassee. Each event is from 5:30 to 7 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe, located in downtown Tallahassee.

The October 12 discussion addresses Fair Districts Florida amendments (5 & 6) and Relaxation of Class Size amendment (8). Speakers include Representative Curtis Richardson; President & CEO Barney Bishop of Associated Industries of Florida; Ben Wilcox, Executive Director of Common Cause; President of Leon Classroom Teachers Association David Worrell; Executive Director of Florida School Boards Association Dr. Wayne Blanton and Robert Weissert of Florida Tax Watch.

October 19 the focus will shift to the “State of the State” with panelists President Ted Granger of United Way of Florida, The Reverend Dr. Allison DeFoor, and Director of The Collins Institute Dr. Carol Weissert. The panel will also touch on Amendments 1 (Repeal of Public Financing Requirement) 2 (Military Tax Break) and the non-binding resolution to balance the federal budget. Tony Carvajal, the Director of State Policy Coordination for the Collins Center, will moderate the discussion.

The final evening of October 26 will address the controversial Hometown Democracy amendment (Amendment 4). Panelists include Hometown Democracy’s John Hedrick and Joyce Tarnow, Adam Babbington of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and President of 1000 Friends of Florida Charles Pattison. Leon County Commissioner-elect Kristin Dozier will moderate the discussion.

Additional biographical information about the speakers and event and parking details available online at http://www.tothevillagesquare.org. For more information call 264-8785.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

August 15, 2010

Media Contact: Liz Joyner
Executive Director
To The Village Square, Inc.
850.264.8785

“THE VILLAGE SQUARE” HOSTS COMMUNITY CONVERSATION ON THE PARTISAN DIVIDE

WHO: The Village Square nonprofit, featuring community leaders Representative Alan Williams, Florida League of Cities Mike Sittig, Leadership Florida’s Wendy Abberger and Tallahassee Democrat’s Mary Ann Lindley in conversation with journalist John Marks.

WHAT: Dinner at the Square: “Purple State of Mind: Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture,” a preview of the season “The Divided States of America: How we got there and how we get back.”

WHEN: Tomorrow night, Monday August 16, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe, Downtown Tallahassee, Alfriend Hall just inside Calhoun Street entrance

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – August 15, 2010 – The Village Square will host a community conversation on America’s political divide and how it is affecting our city and state tomorrow night, featuring community leaders in conversation with Purple State of Mind’s John Marks, former 60 Minutes producer and U.S. News and World Report’s Berlin Bureau Chief.

Community leaders participating in the conversation are Representative Alan Williams, Mike Sittig the Executive Director of the Florida League of Cities, Wendy Abberger President of Leadership Florida and Mary Ann Lindley the Editorial Editor of The Tallahassee Democrat.

The event is $5 and includes a pizza dinner, but participants may also call 264-8785 to request a scholarship ticket. More information is available online here: http://www.tothevillagesquare.org/divided/purple.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joy Watkins, President
Community Foundation of North Florida
(850) 222-2899 ext. 104
jwatkins@cfnf.org
www.cfnf.org

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND VILLAGE SQUARE BENEFIT FROM A KNIGHT FOUNDATION CHALLENGE GRANT

Tallahassee, Fla., January 13, 2010 – In a highly competitive national grant contest, the Community Foundation of North Florida is one of 24 community and place-based foundations recently selected to receive a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant was awarded as a part of The Knight Community Information Challenge, a five-year, $24 million initiative to help community and place-based foundations find creative ways to use new media and technology to keep residents informed and engaged.

The Community Foundation, in partnership with The Village Square, received a $72,000 challenge grant to revitalize the dialogue among the city’s diverse residents around community issues. The project entitled “We the People” will create a 21st century virtual and face-to-face public square by offering unique town hall forums in addition to constructive online engagement through a community problem-solving Wiki. The project’s aim is to renew Tallahassee’s marketplace of ideas where good solutions rise from an informed citizenship, and where abundant information can be channeled into constructive results. The grant requires a $50,000 match from our community making the total project budget $122,000.

“We thank the Knight Foundation for recognizing that access to information is essential for the quality of life in our community and for providing resources to help increase access for all citizens. Through this challenge grant contest, Knight is challenging communities across the country to respond to the changing media landscape in our communities and ensure that residents have access to information. We are pleased to be able to support Knight’s work in our community, strengthen The Village Square’s work and increase access to information for citizens in our community.” – Joy Watkins, President of the Community Foundation of North Florida.

“The Village Square is thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with the Community Foundation and the Knight Foundation. The Village Square’s mission is to encourage civil dialogue about community issues and to ensure the people of our community receive factual information about those issues. Our work is right in line with what the Knight Foundation is trying to accomplish. This grant will enhance our work by allowing us to get more information to a broader audience.” Liz Joyner, Executive Director of The Village Square.

Allen Katz co-founded The Village Square in 2006, along with Tallahassee Community College President Dr. Bill Law. “Rapid changes in the way we communicate with each other and the hyper-partisan environment nationally have left communities less able to deal with local and state issues constructively,” says Katz, a former Tallahassee City Commissioner who has been nominated by President Obama to become U.S. Ambassador to Portugal. “The best ideas in a democracy come from engaged and informed citizenship,” says Law. “This project will bring more light and less heat to problems ahead of us.”

“The social glue of communities has changed substantially over the last 40 years,” according to Joyner. “Civic clubs and service organizations used to knit us together to form a geographical community whose bond was greater than political difference. But ideology-based groups are on the rise and as a result our unique made-in-America social fabric is fraying,” says Joyner.

“We the People” will expand The Village Square programming on local and state issues through varying formats like “Dinner at the Square,” “Take-out Tuesday,” “Politics, Partisans & A Pint” and “Sunday Night Supper Club,” intentionally reviving community between people with diverse perspectives.

To compliment these face-to-face forums, the project will have an online component: A Wiki-based online problem solving tool, where neighbors can collaborate to assemble relevant facts and resources for addressing local, state and national issues. “We hope to create an online community that defies the trend toward angry likeminded groups; where people will treat each other with the same respect as they do when they see neighbors at the grocery store or at their mailbox,” says Joyner.

“This grant presents a great opportunity for our organization and our community”, says Joyner. “We have a lot of work ahead of us to raise the $50,000 match and to implement the details of the project. Our hope is that the community will rally with us to raise the matching funds and help us improve the vitality of our community by increasing access to civil and factual information in our community.”

To learn more about the project or to get involved with The Village Square, please go to www.tothevillagesquare.org or contact Liz Joyner at liz@tothevillagesquare.org or (850) 264-8785.

About the Community Foundation of North Florida
The Community Foundation of North Florida is a nonprofit public charity serving the 10 county Big Bend area by facilitating and promoting charitable giving and strengthening nonprofit organizations. The Foundation helps people give in perpetuity to their favorite charities and helps nonprofit organizations with grants, education and endowment building expertise. For more information, contact Joy Watkins, President, at jwatkins@cfnf.org or 850-222-2899 ext. 104.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Liz Joyner, Executive Director
The Village Square
(850)264-8785
liz@tothevillagesquare.org

THE VILLAGE SQUARE AND FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL HOST NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES CHAIR JIM LEACH

Leach launches 50-state Civility Tour

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) – January 8, 2010 — On Tuesday, January 12, local non-profit The Village Square and The Florida Humanities Council will host a lecture by National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leach as a part of a 50-state Civility Tour.

Leach’s lecture “Civility and Bridging Cultures” addresses the causes and consequences of the coarsening national political dialog. Leach warns “the temper and integrity of the political dialogue are more important for the cohesiveness of society than the outcome of any election.” According to Leach, transformational changes in communications technology, gerrymandered redistricting and stubborn qualities of human nature have resulted in under-representation of the vast American center in our public discourse and a potentially dangerous lack of civility in social life.

Leach served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years as a Republican from Iowa. Prior to his appointment by President Obama to serve as NEH Chair, he was the John L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He also served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

The Village Square, a nonpartisan 501(c) 3 public educational forum organized by a diverse group of community leaders, seeks to improve the factual accuracy and civility of our public discourse at a community level. Co-founded by former City Commissioner Allan Katz and Tallahassee Community College President Bill Law, a list of board members can be found here: http://www.tothevillagesquare.org/board-of-directors.

The event is from 7 to 8 PM on Tuesday January 12 at the Challenger Learning Center on Kleman Plaza downtown. It is free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP call 509-5236 or go online to www.tothevillagesquare.org/.

Additional biographical information about Chairman Leach and tools & resources for growing civil discourse locally can be found at The Village Square website www.tothevillagesquare.org.

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