Charting a vision for Columbia

One of the people selected to co-chair Columbia’s Vision Committee said the key to success is keeping an open mind. The other said the key is outreach.

The co-chairs, Dianne Drainer and Jeffrey Williams, take pride in their professional and civic involvement. They were chosen from 23 applicants by the Sponsors Council, a group of seven prominent Columbians responsible for community involvement in the vision project. As co-chairs, they are expected to take care of the day-to-day responsibilities of the project with the help of city staff and gather data and work closely with ACP Visioning and Planning, the New York consulting firm hired by the city to coordinate the effort.

Mayor Darwin Hindman is happy with the choices and said the co-chairs aren’t what you’d call the “usual suspects.”

“This is when Columbia’s vision becomes citizen-driven, and I think they’ll do a good job,” Hindman said. “This is a chance for me as mayor to stand back and watch.”

Drainer, who has lived in Columbia for 30 years, feels that acting as a visioning co-chair is a chance to contribute to Columbia’s future. She said she doesn’t have a particular aspect of Columbia that she’d like to improve. Instead, she hopes the process will begin with a clean slate. She said it’s important to go into the project with a very clear and open mind.

“I think that this is a process of having proactive hope,” Drainer said.

Drainer has acted as vice chairwoman of the Missouri Public Service Commission and manager of Research and

Evaluation for the Missouri Department of Social Services. Drainer said her experience in working with people and public hearings makes her qualified for the position. As a co-chair, she looks forward to “working as a team” with Williams and celebrating the diversity of the community.

Williams describes himself as an academic who’s very active in the community. He said he understands that education is what makes Columbia a “destination location” but said that higher-education institutions aren’t the only lifeblood in town.

Williams said he’s very humbled by the Sponsors Council selection and looks forward to bridging the gap between Columbia’s campuses and the community.

Williams has lived in Columbia for 10 years. He has participated in Leadership Columbia, worked with the Boone County Community Partnership and acted as president for the Minority Men’s Network. He recently received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award on behalf of the Columbia branch of the NAACP for his work with youth.

Williams said the co-chairs can act as a model for how to get involved. He said it’s the co-chairs’ obligation to reach out to the community.

“It’s important that the vision is citizen driven and that the citizens have faith and trust in Columbia’s vision,” Williams said. “We need to ask people, ‘What makes Columbia, Columbia?’”

Williams said he and Drainer aim to get input from people “from all walks of life.” Williams said it’s important to include older residents, younger residents and people of various races, ethnicities and social classes. Williams said the co-chairs and leaders of Citizen Topic Groups will attend meetings around town hosted by a range of groups, including the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club.

“Contact is so critical in this process,” Williams said.

The next step of the process includes the selection of Citizen Topic Group chairs. Drainer and Williams will choose 15 candidates who have expressed interest in leading an individual Citizen Topic Group.

“After we select those to be chairs of Citizen Topic Groups, the Vision Committee plans to meet with ACP and start preparing for the BIG (Big Idea Gathering) meetings,” Williams said.

The co-chairs hope to have Citizen Topic Group chairs chosen by early November. BIG Meetings are to be held Nov. 28 at Stephens College and Nov. 30 at Rock Bridge High School.