The Wynne Home Planning Process

The Arts Commission reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to ensuring that Huntsville's publics remain involved in and informed about the Wynne Home project throughout the conversion process. Implementation responsibilities will be carried out by community-based teams, appointed by and accountable to the Commission. Developing useful guidance for the Teams was identified as a high priority.

Planning to Plan

The Commission met in a work session with City staff on March 30, 2000. At that time, it was decided to conduct a one-day planning meeting of community leaders on June 10. Expected outcomes for the meeting included:

• Reach consensus on Cultural Arts Center target audience(s), core values, mission and vision.
• Develop clear guidance in the areas of Programs, Physical Structure, Finance, Management and Marketing for community-based Wynne Home Implementation Teams.
• Define individual and/or collective post-meeting responsibilities.
• Further strengthen participant commitment to and support for the conversion of Wynne Home into a Cultural Arts Center.

The Commission identified 69 potential participants who collectively represented a reasonable cross section of relevant skills, disciplines, perspectives and stakeholder groups. On April 26, they were invited by letter to express their interest in contributing to the Wynne Home strategic planning discussion. A total of 57 replies (83% response rate) were received. All persons who indicated both willingness and availability (29) were appointed to the planning group. Appointment letters were mailed on May 12. As needed, alternates were identified for individuals who, due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, were unable to attend the meeting.

A package of background information and pre-meeting worksheets was sent to each appointee on May 30 to support individual preparation. Also, several persons toured the Wynne Home prior to the meeting.

Community Planning Meeting

The Wynne Home Community Planning Meeting was conducted on Saturday, June 10, 2000, (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) in Council Chambers of Huntsville City Hall, 1212 M Street. Twenty-five (25) people participated. Lunch was provided by Mrs. Samuella Palmer, who was unable to attend.

Sheryl Paul, Partner, Association Works, facilitated large and small group interactive dialogs, exercises and activities that led to consensus around the vision and strategic direction for the Arts Center. Team-specific implementation guidance was developed by the following participant discussion groups:

• Finance - Bill Hodges, Dave Luning, Joe Malak, Ron Mitchell
• Management - Cynthia Milne, Mary Frances Park, Darryl Patrick, Linda Pease, Laverne Warner
• Marketing - Johnnie Jo Dickenson, Ila Gaines, Sally Knapp, Charlotte Oleinik, Margaret Smith
• Physical Structure - Cheryl Patton, Tom Rogers, J.D. Schindler, J Turner, Fred Weinzierl
• Programs - Molly Campbell, Patty Davis, John Escobedo, Kenneth Levingston, Maureen McIntyre, Sally Turlington

The following product of one small groups dialog is provided to illustrate both the thoughtful way in which all participants approached their tasks as well as the exceptional quality of the resulting outcomes.

The Wynne Home Arts Center will enhance the quality of life in our community by:

• Providing opportunities to experience and participate in a broad spectrum of arts and cultural activities;
• Enhancing communication and cooperation among diverse components of the arts;
• Providing an historically authentic setting which serves the multi-faceted citizenry of the community; and
• Showcasing the emerging cultural and artistic mecca that the community can become.

The meeting received an overall rating of 3.89 (on a 1 to 4 scale, where 4.0 is most favorable) by the 19 participants who returned written evaluations.

Follow-Up

The Arts Commission met on July 6 and July 13 to refine and finalize its plan for transforming the Wynne Home into an Arts Center. The results of those discussions are reflected in the remainder of this report. The Arts Commission will present its plan to City Council on July 25, 2000.

• Exerpted from Wynne Home Arts Center Strategic Direction & Action Plan, page 2,3. 
  (Plan was presented; Council accepted the plan, approved the committee structure process and charged the commission to proceed with detailed plans.)

• For questions or comments contact Linda Pease.
  back to Strategic Action & Direction Plan