“Abracadabra! Hocus-Pocus! Let’s Reveal the Magic!”

What is your favorite city on this planet?

This post is going to require you to do a little activity. When I say (when you read the word) “GO!” I want you to take 30 seconds to do the following:

• Close your eyes and picture the city or town where you call home.
• Imagine the streets. The homes. The businesses. The people.
• The sounds. The smells. The colors. The weather.
• What are your favorite things about your hometown? Imagine those too.
• What are the things you aren’t too fond of in your community? Yeah, include those too.
• Imagine the history behind the city. What it’s known for. What reputation it holds. Everything that your home embodies, picture it.
• Then OPEN YOUR EYES.

Don’t worry, this 30 seconds will still keep this blog post under an 8-minute read! (Yes, I time them before I publish them; your time is precious!) Click play on the video below, you’ll hear a soft sound indicating the 30 seconds are up, and GO!

Last step of the activity: if you had a magic wand, would there be anything you would change about your hometown, and if so how would you do it?

I am one of the citizen representatives of Envision Athens. I serve as a member of their Implementation and Oversight Committee and their Administrative Subcommittee. I took on this role towards the beginning of 2020 and have gained a lot of insight as to what Athens is, can be, and has to offer. What is Envision Athens? Well, first let me tell you a little bit about Athens.

See, I did that 30-second activity too. I didn’t picture my hometown of New Castle, PA, but I pictured Athens, GA. Athens is where I call home now. I have lived here for over 8 years, and I am establishing roots here (who knew you could establish roots AND live the single life?!). I have met various people from community organizers, politicians, owners of non-profits, and of course lawyers. I was present for many conversations on how to decrease unnecessary arrests, keep our youth out of the criminal justice system, increase community involvement of Athens’ residents, and provide Athenians with proper housing and food. But, when I closed my eyes for those 30 seconds and envisioned Athens as it is now, I wasn’t 100% satisfied. Joining Envision Athens was my first pass of me waving that magic wand to make Athens a better place.

Envision Athens is a community-wide effort to develop a common vision for the future of the Athens-Clarke County community. Everything they do is focused on their core values of unity, prosperity, equity, and compassion. They’re driven by their Action Agenda which is the twenty-year community and economic development strategy for Athens-Clarke County. The Action Agenda is spearheaded by the Project Manager, who gets support and input from the various committee members and collaborates with the Mayor and Commission. The 103 priority actions within the Action Agenda are fulfilled by community partners, citizens, and volunteers. This is their Civic Engagement Guide for people who live in and around Athens to get involved (don’t you just love simple but yet informative resources like these?!).

I joined Envision Athens because I wanted to take my advocacy beyond the courtroom. I doubt I coined the term “community advocate,” but when I thought about what I wanted to do outside the courtroom, why I wanted to do it, and how I was going to accomplish it, that term just came to my mind. No city and no system is perfect. But they can always be better. So I’ll advocate for my community. My passion for public defense is to keep young minorities out of the criminal justice system. That is what I wanted to do outside of the courtroom. Remember when I mentioned on my Home page that Athens doesn’t have a Black middle class? Seeking a solution to that was why I wanted to expand my advocacy beyond the courtroom. Getting up from behind my desk, stepping out into the communities around me, and assessing the city’s needs are how I am going to accomplish it.

You might be thinking, “wow, a twenty-year plan seems like a long time. Why does it need to take 20 years?” Just stop that negative thinking right there! Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things worth having don’t come easy. And positive, sustainable, and impactful changes do not occur overnight (quote me!). Envision Athens is a 20-year initiative that has so many moving parts. The work that one moving part produces probably won’t make a dent in the plan or even lead to any noticeable changes, but the work that all the moving parts produce together?? That’s where we see the changes. We see the impact. We see the light at the end of the tunnel! Don’t grow weary or discouraged.

I have only been a part of Envision Athens for less than a year. But I have already learned so much, gained so much, and gave so much. They have a lot of ways to get involved like their social media challenges, the year of the Good Neighbor campaign, and their public meetings with the various organizations with which they collaborate (click here to view their calendar). Everything Envision Athens does furthers their mission to inspire all Athenians to be “Good Neighbors;” people united under one vision to better the community’s future through the four core values— unity, equity, prosperity, and compassion. Visit their website, check out their social media, and subscribe to their newsletter to learn more! And if you don’t live in Athens, check out your county’s website and Facebook pages. See how you can start a Good Neighbor campaign or create initiatives similar to those listed on the Civic Engagement Guide. Don’t get frustrated. Use your skills, talents, and connections to the good of your community!

Okay, I lied. THIS is the real last step of the activity — if you imagined a city that you weren’t 100% satisfied with, get up and go do something about it! Let’s reveal the magic!

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10 NIV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record