The Pencil

New Beginnings…

Joplin School District Administration Building

Starting June 19th - this will be my new office. Last night, I officially accepted an offer from the district to be their new Director of Visual Communication. This is a very exciting time for Joplin. The May 22nd tornado destroyed 6 schools and damaged 3 others. Over the next two years, all of these facilities will be redesigned and rebuilt or repaired to collectively become one of the most state-of-the-art school districts in the country. I am proud to join the team and help communicate to the rest of the country the process and progress of the school district’s recovery.

Interestingly, my horoscope today reads: 

Today you will be very focused on beginnings – which is perfect, because the stars say that this is a superb time for new projects.

The ‘Joplin effect’

After the initial shock of the Joplin tornado tragedy, and my feelings of complete helplessness settled, I began fighting for a way to help Joplin rebuild better and stronger than before. I didn’t own a chainsaw or a bulldozer or have tons of money to donate, but I know a few things about green building and urban planning and how to spark ideas through graphic communication. Digging through every newspaper article and contacting every member on the city planning committee finally led me to the beginnings of the Citizen’s Advisory Recovery Team. I volunteered to assist with the Infrastructure + Environment sector - to become an advocate for a more sustainable Joplin. I had at last found my way to help. It has been a humbling experience and I am so proud of the work we accomplished. 

I love the way CART is described in the excerpt below:

The best of democracy and the best of community helped heal the city.

from The ‘Joplin effect’, The Boston Globe, May 24th, 2012

by Juliette Kayyem

“…1,000 little yellow sticky notes. At the public meeting, over 300 citizens representing a cross-section of this old mining town began to list the things that had to get done. Basic priorities, like removing debris and laying down new pavement, combined with visions of what Joplin could become as it rebuilt. All the ideas, even the silly ones, were recorded on those little notes.

This effort was eventually led by Jane Cage. She is the middle-aged owner of a local business called Heartland Technology. She moved here with her husband and couldn’t bring herself to leave after his death in 1985. She is a celebrity now, Joplin’s Citizen of the Year. She is unassuming and kind, and believes the tornado was an opportunity to think differently about city planning in a place that needs more diversified and affordable housing, more business sectors, and better public spaces. She loves Joplin, but isn’t nostalgic either. “This is an opportunity that we never asked for, but can’t afford to waste,” she told me.

Cage formed the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team, an organization that is best described as a makeshift development group without the developers. The idea was to take all the enthusiasm, all the random ideas, all the visions of a new Joplin, and make them a part of the city’s future. The sticky notes formed the backbone of the team’s proposals in housing, education, and business development. Team leaders begged for input, standing outside the local college, bookstores, and community events to persuade more people to get involved. They had only one goal: No one would feel left out.

The process was like a election campaign without politics or smoke-filled rooms. Everyone was welcome, so much so that when the city voted to approve the recovery plan, not a single resident quibbled over the details.”