Expert to speak at annual dinner

The expert will follow up on his institute's 1999 report of Youngstown.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Richard C. Harwood, a noted national expert on strengthening communities and improving public life, is the keynote speaker at the Wick Neighbors Inc.'s May 4 annual meeting and dinner.
Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonprofit organization in Bethesda, Md., released a study in 1999 of Youngstown, "Waiting for the Future: Creating New Possibilities for Youngstown."
The study concluded that city residents felt "stuck" and Youngstown was a "place in waiting." Wick Neighbors invited Harwood back to assess Youngstown's new momentum and civic gains. His speech at the May 4 dinner is titled: "Youngstown: No Longer a Place for Waiting."
On the agenda
Harwood will discuss providing new direction for public innovation, shaping public leaders to drive such initiatives and building supportive civic-minded organizations to sustain and grow strong community life.
The 1999 plan outlined feelings of community weariness and frustration with the city's economic and social declines, a lack of connection between groups and a sense that public life wasn't working correctly.
The report, the results of a six-month study, noted several elements of civic pride and hope in the grass-roots efforts from church and neighborhood groups.
Wick Neighbors' $250 million Wick District-Smoky Hollow redevelopment plan is focused on reviving the city's Smoky Hollow area. If fully implemented, the plan would include a three-acre central park; more than 500 townhouses, condominiums, single-family homes and apartments; commercial and retail space; senior citizen housing; and office space.
The 66-acre site is bounded by Wick, Andrews, Rayen and Madison avenues. A committee is reviewing three proposals -- two from developers in Cleveland and one from Pittsburgh -- to carry out the plan.
Tickets for the May 4 event are $25 per person, and the reservation deadline is Friday. To make reservations or for more information, contact Wick Neighbors Inc. at (330) 259-1750. Make checks payable to Wick Neighbors Inc. and mail them to Wick Neighbors Inc., 323 Wick Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 44503.