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University
of Alabama Theatre and Dance Department. During October through December in 1997, Region 2020 held 17 “idea-gathering” meetings at schools, churches, and other places across the region to hear people’s hopes and dreams for the future. The ideas gathered at the meetings were the basis for the goals for the region. A diversity of geographic regions and ages were represented at the meetings – from high schools students, to seniors.
At the sessions, participants were asked to write down the “one thing you treasure most about the region.”
Here is a sampling of the responses, grouped by meeting location:
Walker County High School, Jasper:
• Church
• Smith Lake
• Natural beauty
• Waterways
• People
• Our children
• Small town values and relaxed place
• Hospitality
• Security – free to go and come without fear
• The way citizens pull together and help others in an emergency
• The tremendous potential that we have waiting to be tapped
• Alabama Mining Museum
Jefferson State Community College:
• Visionland
• Schools and libraries
• Strong sense of community pride in Trussville
• Golf
• Undeveloped land and natural resources
• Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center
• Strong sense of history
• Convenient location to most of the things that I enjoy the most
• Natural beauty in country setting; near a big city with friendly
people
• East Lake
• The diversity of people, topography and climate
• Excellent healthcare available at UAB, Children’s and
HealthSouth
• The history of downtown area
• My school – Hewitt Elementary
Oneonta High School, Blount County:
• The natural environment and the people
who make up our greater community
• Low density of population
• Alabama’s wildlife and natural history
• The Covered Bridges
• The most treasured thing about Blount County is that it is rural,
with all that the word “rural” implies
• Good neighbors
• The people. They are hard-working, caring people
• A place where there’s little crime
• The ability to know my fellow citizens
• The slower pace
• Natural, unspoiled areas
• Locust Fork River
• Historic buildings
Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute. Photo courtesy of Larry O. Gay
Bessemer State Technical College in Jefferson County:
• Southern living; climate
• Churches; compassion
• Low crime rate
• The enthusiasm of our community members; The optimism we have
regarding our future
• Geography
• Space – it’s not too crowded with people, cars,
buildings, etc.
• Tree-lined streets and mountain ridges
• The togetherness of the people
• History and historic buildings
• Grocery stores; church
• Village Creek
• The freeway system
• Peace and quiet
Carver High School (including students) in Birmingham:
• Public schools
• My neighbors
• The people and their ways
• Elderly people
• The protection from our law enforcement, and the quality of
our mayor of the city
• Location; our region is within reasonable distance of many facilities
and other major cities
• G.W. Carver High School
• The community recreation center is a place where I can go and
not get in trouble
• The nice and kind people who live in it
Moody High School, St. Clair County:
• Small town feel with some amenities
of a larger city
• The Pace
• Resources
• Community involvement
• The sense of community
• Logan Martin Lake and wildlife
• Proximity to Birmingham; opportunity to take advantage of benefits
of metropolitan area, yet live far enough away to avoid the negatives
• The people – the way they care, share and love each other
• Growth with continued community friendliness
• Medical facilities
• Churches all around (sense of security)
• It’s where I was born and where I have lived all my life – 82
years
• Public library
• Space
• Seeing the revitalization of the Ensley Community and the homes
being built in Sandy Bottom
• Clean, safe, small-town atmosphere
• The country atmosphere, and forests, fields and farms
• The kids
• The elderly
• The people who want a changing South
Stained
glass window at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.Photo courtesy of Larry O. Gay
Birmingham-Southern College – Youth:
• Early summer weather made for back-porch
swings
• The natural beauty and environment
• The historical houses
• The different people, and different scenes of the area
• The people and their potential for greatness
• Birmingham zoo; it provides a place where people can experience
nature
• Wonderful landscape
• Southern hospitality
• Oak Mountain state Park
• Heritage festival
• Athletic heritage (i.e. football games)
• Willie Mays Park
• Wonderful history of our region
• Our cultural activities – art museum, symphony
• There are many religious denominations in this region, but I
treasure the dedication and involvement that these denominations play
in society. In other regions (up North), religion is not as emphasized
as down south.
• Perhaps the most unique aspect Birmingham has its culture – few
cities were built upon an industrial base.
• Many beautiful neighborhoods
• The shopping malls
• Trees
• The way downtown Birmingham still has an “old-time” look
• The Civil Rights Institute … “Remembering the past
so as not to make the same mistakes.”
• The statue of Vulcan
• Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the Civil Rights Museum
• I like the South Side – a place people can go just to
have a good time (Five Points South)
• Kelly Ingram Park, because of the history it holds
• Civil Rights Museum (collective efforts in improving race relations)
• Our religious freedom ( and the local tolerance of that freedom);
it’s very different from other parts of the country
• I love City Stages. I think it is a very fun time to get to
see new people. I’m sure that it is a complicated activity to organize.
• Alabama Football at Legion Field
• The pretty landscape along the highways, and the Galleria
• Red Mountain
• What I treasure most about this region, is how, in a time of
difficulty or trouble (like our ice storm a couple of years ago), the
community and region was able to pull together to help one another. (not
discriminating against race, religion or gender)
• The feeling of being pretty safe without being boring
• Its diversity in culture, resources, landscape and opportunities
