One hundred and twenty nine people attended a county-wide Community Convocation sponsored by the Human Relations Council of Montgomery County held on Saturday April 13, 2002 at Falling Branch Elementary School from 8:30 am until 3:00 pm (see attached "Attendee List"). Nine hundred and three invitations were sent out to community members and leaders between February 17, 2002 and March 15, 2002. One hundred sixty-seven people registered for the convocation and were mailed confirmation postcards between March 18, 2002 and April 9, 2002. Of the 167 people registered for the convocation, 61 self-registered (i.e. registered without receiving an invitation and of their own accord, an action we highly recommended in the media, in newsletters, and in person).

People registered for the event in a variety of ways. For ease of data collecting, this web site (http://civic.bev/hrc) was formed, and people were directed to the site to get information about the HRC, the convocation, and registration and referral. Eighty-nine people chose to register on-line and many commented how grateful they were for the opportunity to click a few buttons and submit an electronic form.

A self-addressed paper registration form accompanied every invitation and was handed out at local meetings and in the schools. Registrants filled out the same information asked for on-line; however, they added a stamp and mailed the paper form to our Post Office Box. Fifty people chose to register this way. The form seemed to serve as additional PR and included web information and an HRC contact phone number and email so that further information could be sought if desired.

Finally, 32 people registered by phone or in person. There is also an additional category of 3 that represents the two facilitators and project coordinator.

Youth attendance is recorded in the numbers above as all 20 registered with a paper form. Invitations went out to Diversity Team faculty advisors at each of the county schools. We felt their voice was so important to this process, so we made transportation readily available and encouraged faculty advisors of the various school Diversity Teams to join the youth from their school. As it turned out, many of the faculty advisors supplied the transportation, for which the HRC is grateful. The Superintendent also provided important Paratransit support for the day.

The total cost of the convocation was $3,491 (plus the $1,200 for food donated by The Office of Multicultural Affairs) as reported by the HRC treasurer Chris Burton.

The intent of the convocation was to bring community leaders AND community citizens together to share, express, and decide what human relations needs existed in Montgomery County and to begin the work of teaching people how to sustain on-going dialogue and action around these issues. With that in mind, the two facilitators, Paula Wilder (of The Business Advisory Group) and Brenda Brand (of Virginia Tech) brought a workshop to us titled "Two Frameworks in a Space" using "open space technology," an interactive group model devised by Harrison Owen.

Defining dialogue and learning how to listen and respond in dialogue while realizing the barriers to inclusive conversation was a crucial first step. Then we defined diversity and were given some research that expanded the way we think about diversity and dialogue, realizing that our beliefs about others often orchestrate our language toward them. The question "what human relations opportunities exist in Montgomery County?" then directed our open space session. Topics participants cared about were placed on paper in the middle of the room while small, self-selected groups broke off under those topic headings to dialogue. Because of the incredible flexibility of this model, participants were able to stay with one topic or "buzz" around the room engaging in many dialogues. The 21 topics varied widely in their subject matter, participant size, structure, and approach. This was noticeable when the small groups reported out to the whole group about their dialogue. What was also noticeable was how many topics threaded together. Ultimately, the process of the workshop allowed participants to incorporate the following into their experience and their lives:

• defining dialogue and what interrupts open dialogue
• exploring diversity and multiple perspectives
• encouraging empathy and understanding of difference
• understanding how to be agents of change
• learning how to listen
• building inclusive teams
• establishing county-wide capacity to work on human relations issues/concerns

For the purposes of capturing data, the open dialogue session easel sheets were collected at the end of the convocation and transcribed by six wonderful volunteers (go to "Open Dialogue Session Transcripts"). Information was typed exactly as it appeared on the sheets. Group facilitator and recorder names appear under each topic so that follow-up can easily happen among convocation participants. An asterisk denotes the topic group's summary statement if they had one. These alone are powerful when read together.

The final "wrap-up" or "next-step" session done in the cafeteria was also transcribed and appears at the end of the transcript. In this session, participants had the opportunity to list what they felt should come forth from the convocation and the community.

Now that the group work is transcribed, synthesizing dialogue points for suggestions and concerns or common goals and potential shared resources is important. The HRC has begun some of that conversation. Convocation participants would enrich that conversation however. The HRC is only as strong as the community value of continuing the dialogue to see our way through to action. The follow-up section of this report notes ways participants can be involved.

Many people suggested on the evaluation that a list of attendees be supplied. That list is attached and titled "Attendee List." Primary organizational affiliation and contact information is provided on that list. Also provided is a list of all the organizations represented at the convocation. The sum is greater than that of those who attended because many people belong to two, if not three, organizations.

The HRC must thank the convocation participants for taking the evaluations so seriously. Using a qualitative rather than a quantitative evaluation behooved the HRC; it allowed for multiple perspectives on the convocation to be taken in and will help in the synthesizing and planning of next steps and future convocations. The value of the comments really cannot be overstated. See attached "Participant Evaluations."

In general, most people felt a combined adult and youth convocation should occur at least once a year. Making the convocation an annual event would shorten the planning time tremendously and help carve out a respected and sought out venue for dialogue and coming together within the community. Indeed the HRC feels that one of the most important things it can offer Montgomery County is the space and time to join each other and make connections we otherwise would not on our own or would be less likely to on our own. This will continue to be a central focus of the HRC: making room for people to be with each other.

While many mentioned on the evaluations that they wanted to start at a later hour on a Saturday, no one suggested that a Saturday was not a good day to meet. This might mean that trying to do something during the week would leave many who have a traditional workweek out. Some expressed that the convocation was tiring by the end of the day and that perhaps it could be broken up into a two-day mid-morning to mid-afternoon event. This would actually address the concerns of yet another group of people who felt the actual open session dialogue time and perhaps an "unstructured" mingling time would benefit participant processing and networking. Indeed, it is easy to visualize one day of dialogue and another day of planning or really getting down to asking about the level of our commitment to issues/topics brought forth.

The overall rating of the convocation was extraordinary with many people noting "A" or "10" or "excellent" and "great." However, the most telling part of the evaluation may just be in the answers to question number four: "What new insight(s) or learning(s) did you gain from the convocation?" The depth of the convocation experience is found here. The answers "too many organizations working individually toward same goal-need coalition," "this community has very talented and committed people," and "how easy it is to keep secret such taboos as race and privilege" are all equally profound in their scope and authenticity. All the answers gave a real sense of where people are in their own understanding of dialogue, community building, diversity and difference, and resources. This question takes the pulse of the community. Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts we give each other when we meet face to face: we take our pulse in reference to our "being" in this community.

Many recommendations for the next convocation were discussed by the HRC at the May meeting. They are as follows:

• intentionally build on the good attendance of the Islamic and International communities
• continue to gain greater ethnic representation so that whole group reflects the varied people within our community
• increase African American attendance, which seemed to be lower then at the 1997 convocation
• reach out to more rural population by tapping into PTA's, civic clubs, and churches
• continue to build understanding of disability issues by inviting more people with disabilities to the table
• seek financial help from Blacksburg and Christiansburg towns and identify other resources so that we can have multiple opportunities to come together outside of a convocation
• serve a more diverse menu for breakfast and lunch
• identify organizations that would benefit from a stronger ally relationship with the HRC and want to help with next convocation
• discuss ways in which county organizations can link/share resources and be informed of what work is being done
• strong encouragement to maintain an open dialogue framework for the workshop in which the participants drive the issues and content
• be more specific regarding directions for the final report out sessions next time
• consider not putting organization affiliation or title on name tags

The Project Coordinator made recommendations to the HRC about the planning and coordination of the next convocation at that same meeting. They are as follows:

• consider having a coordinator AND a database person; putting on such an event is a two person job
• OR have a database person and committee out responsibilities such as food, signs, set-up, PR
• have television media present or supply them with footage · have laptops available for recording group dialogue OR individual tape recorders for groups to record main points, action steps, and summary statements
• encourage newspapers to print the press release instead of writing article initially; have a follow-up article close to convocation date that attempts to take a more personal look at the event
• maintain and commit to youth participation
• produce a handout for the convocation that has participant names and contact information · use email invitations for agencies, businesses, and education affiliations so that greater time can be spent IN the community going to religious and civic meetings and making personal visits to government officials, minority owned businesses, and communities outside of Blacksburg
• make learning session more interactive for the youth
• have a handout or form that participants fill out with the evaluations that asks specific organization information such as the focus of the organization (recreation, women, health, etc.) and the type of organization (private, public, non-profit)
• ask greeters to check off registrant names as they arrive
• have facilitators practice with microphones and encourage PowerPoint instead of overheads
• make convocation an annual spring event and keep it on the weekend

Let us not be paralyzed by it. An enormous array of possibilities for Montgomery County was generated from the convocation. As one participant eloquently put it: we were only together for a day. It was a powerful day, but it was one day. In the spirit of the convocation and the mission of the HRC, continuing this dialogue is absolutely vital. More dialogue will help in a number of ways. It will allow us to synthesize and draw on the experience of the convocation in order to plan well thought out action steps, both for the HRC and for the individual topic groups. It may also help us identify ways to share resources. It will let us know what energy exists around what topics at the moment. It will also allow us to see the growth of our new friends, old friends, and more importantly, ourselves.

Several groups are continuing the dialogue already outside of a formally structured "next step." They are the Non-Adversarial Conflict Transformation group and the Jobs/Economic Issues and Networking Allies group. The Living Wage campaign did not spring from the convocation, but hopefully their weekly Sunday meetings are energized by the presence of new faces from that group. The Comprehensive Planning group would like to engage with the Environment group. The group that addressed Who contributes to a multicultural community and how do we promote/value all contributors want to stay connected and would like the emails and names of those in the group. Furthermore, as a result of the convocation, the social action committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the New River Valley has decided to support the Voluntary Action Center and New River Community Action by working on one tangible project or need a semester. The hope is to involve the entire church in a week long project that all ages can engage in.

Each of the 21 topic groups formed at the convocation may desire to connect or merge with other groups or participants. The ones listed above are just the groups that noted or vocalized their desire and efforts. The HRC hopes that by offering the participant list, anyone will feel welcomed to call anyone who attended and set up meetings, dialogues, sharing of information, or simply a meal. Invite someone you met at the convocation to your house. Have them in your kitchen and go to others' kitchens. That is where the strongest seeds of our community can be planted.

The HRC will make a formal report to the Board of Supervisors, county governing bodies, and the participants regarding the convocation and supply them with all the necessary attachments and data. The HRC will also supply the media with a reporting of the convocation and the real county needs and concerns discussed. The HRC may need to address the significant need for electronic and hard-copy county-wide connections via mailings, listserv, database, and the web. And the HRC will continue to address how it can support the community in whatever ways the community feels it needs to grow and sustain action toward a more compassionate, constructive, and combined existence for all who live in Montgomery County.

Participants can be involved in the process of making follow-up steps happen in a number of ways by:

• coming to HRC meetings the first Monday of each month @ 6pm at the Cranwell International Center (get directions)
• calling or emailing people from the group they felt most comfortable in and discuss what groups are dealing with similar issues or might know of resources
• keeping in touch with the HRC members; they are on the attendee list and welcome your input
• being willing to help set-up forums and pot-lucks and/or identify opportunities for the HRC and other groups/agencies/organizations to engage and grow
• reaching out to a youth that was there
• reaching out to an adult that was there
• talking to the media, neighbors, colleagues, supervisors, family-anyone--about the convocation and how empowering it felt to come together with people
• asking others to join in efforts in the future and plan when and how to engage them
• posting community gatherings, events, FYI's, and opportunities on the HRC listserv when one is created
• thanking themselves for all the things they do for this community each and every day

If any corrections, additions, or changes need to be made to the transcripts or contact information, please notify Irene Lamb at 961-1523 or irene_lamb@hotmail.com or 1757 Ginger Lane, Blacksburg, VA 24060.

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