Stakeholders engage in a roundtable discussion during the visioning session.
Community members gathered in the Cross Street Commerce Center on Thursday, June 2 for a community visioning session put on by Spruce Pine Main Street.
After a brief introduction, attendees split into small groups to complete activities including reviewing a list of economic drivers, reviewing downtown strengths and assets and reviewing a list of downtown weaknesses and liabilities.
The full group then reconvened to review the lists before attendees went back to their groups to write individual “community visions” that were then read aloud within the groups. Groups then combined their statements into one.
The full group came together once more and reviewed the group statements before summarizing the evening. The meeting adjourned around 7:30 p.m.
Spruce Pine Main Street posted on its Facebook page early on Tuesday, May 31 that the meeting was at “full capacity” and no further RSVPs would be accepted.
The town of Spruce pine posted its own message on Facebook later that day explaining that the session was slated to include “around 75 to 100 people” and that the RSVP was required to ensure the correct number of tables, supplies and table monitors could be supplied.
The session was intended to be open to business owners, property owners and “stakeholders” in the downtown district.
“Every effort was made to identify those individuals who have invested their time, money, and hearts into downtown Spruce Pine,” the town’s post read.
The town’s post also addressed the idea that the session would be an “air your grievances meeting”, striking down that notion as a misnomer.
“There is an agenda for this meeting,” the post read. “In order to gather the information and input that is crucial to Main Street’s efforts to refresh its mission and vision.”
The town’s post went on to praise Spruce Pine Main Street’s efforts. A full summary of the collective mission and vision will be published once available.
“The employees and volunteers of Main Street invest real time and effort into the downtown district,” the town wrote. “Imagine if all who profess to love our town did the same.”