A group of interested community members have been meeting to discuss a community center over the past year to make the dream of a community center in Henderson become a reality. Their efforts have resulted in a community survey to realize the interests of residents living in Henderson and the surrounding area.
The idea for a community center originated from the Strategic Plan for Henderson created by the Heartland Center for Leadership Development in January 2010.
Information for the Strategic Plan was compiled through two widely publicized town-hall meetings held on November 5, 2009 and January 18, 2010, a windshield survey, telephone interviews held with 10 Henderson residents, and three focus groups covering a wide age range. According to the Strategic Plan: “Several emerging themes came up through the four data collection efforts. The three that came up the most often are what the Heartland Center calls ‘core community needs’ and include housing, a community center and people attraction efforts.â€
Based on this information two meetings, publicized in the Henderson News, were held on October 11, 2010 and November 15, 2010 to find a group of interested individuals who were willing to work to make the community center become a reality. With no clear leadership for the group, it took almost a year for the group to become organized and begin meeting again, but since the beginning of 2012 the group has been rejuvenated with a desire to move forward.
While ideas and brainstorming is still taking place it is important to gain the opinions of a wide variety of community members to shape the Community Center into a useable space that appeal to a wide age range and variety of interests. The Community Center Committee created a survey to learn about how residents envision a community center in Henderson and the different components that will be necessary for making the community center a success.
If you are interested in shaping the future of Henderson you can pick up a paper copy of the survey at City Hall, request an electronic copy by emailing hchamber@mainstaycomm.net.
