Last July, local philanthropist and visionary Mary Emeny wrote a piece for the Other Opinon page that described how Amarillo might benefit from something happening in Cleveland, Ohio.
Emeny introduced the Evergreen Co-op of Cleveland which was formed to address a problem of rising unemployment, distressed and abandoned property, and declining wealth. As a direct result of this editorial, one of the men responsible for Cleveland’s success, Ted Howard, came to Amarillo earlier this month for a series of meetings with civic leaders and interested parties to explain what was done, how and why.
Last week at the offices of United Way of Amarillo and Canyon, a group of about 30 of us met to explore this idea. I attended that session, as well as an earlier session with Howard, and while I have no authority to speak for this group I can certainly offer a view of what is in the works.
The strategic objectives of such a co-op are varied and valuable.
In this article
Join the Conversation