By Jamie Jones
Clayton County sought a federally qualified health center.
Colquitt County needed a certified industrial park.
Hart County was lacking recreation spots.
These communities received help from faculty and students from the University System of Georgia through the Archway Partnership. On Thursday, state and local officials introduced Whitfield County as the eighth community in the program.
The Archway Partnership was founded in 2005 as an outreach program of the University of Georgia. It helps communities solve problems by increasing community access to the full resources of the university system while simplifying the process of identifying an area’s needs.
The program began in Colquitt County and has expanded to seven other counties, including Clayton, Glynn, Hart, Pulaski, Sumter, Washington and Whitfield. An Archway professional, who is a UGA Public Service faculty member, will move to Whitfield County to make sure the program doesn’t lose steam. The program is being funded by the Board of Regents ($150,000) and Dalton City and Whitfield County governments ($60,000).
Erroll Davis, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, stressed that the program is there for the long-term development of each community. He also said citizens being involved in the program is a key part of its success.
“We do want to help, but we rely on the community to identify the way and to identify the areas in which the help and assistance can be delivered to have the maximum amount of possible effect within the community,” Davis said. “You know your needs. We do not know your needs.”
So who will identify the areas to improve in Whitfield County?
“You will identify the key needs for your community,” said Mel Garber, director of the Archway Partnership.
That begins on Monday with a town hall listening session at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, but there’s only room for 300 people. Spots are still available by contacting the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce at (706) 278-7373. There will be 30 facilitators at the town hall meeting to glean ideas from tables of 10 attendees.
Brian Anderson, president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, declined to give specific examples of how the Archway Partnership can help the county. The program’s Web site (archwaypartnership.uga.edu) lists plenty of projects throughout the state.
In Sumter County, two students from the UGA College of Environmental Design recently completed a project to help revitalize Eastview Cemetery. Fading grave markers are a blight and ditches make the cemetery difficult to visit. Students completed redesign drawings of the cemetery with new landscaping and an entryway to reflect the county’s history. Now, county officials can submit the drawings when applying for grants.
Dalton Mayor David Pennington said the city faces challenges because of the down economy and is excited about the prospects the Archway Partnership presents.
“To move the community forward, you’ve got to have more community leaders following that vision because vision without execution is only hallucination,” Pennington said. “I see the Archway project and process as really helping us come up with a combined community vision and then executing that vision. With the assets we have, I assure you we’ll become the marvel of Georgia.”
