Day One of Lexington's First Civic Assembly

Y'all, it was an absolutely incredible day one for Lexington's first ever Civic Assembly hosted by CivicLex. A few moments that are sticking with me as I get home from a long day of work:

Meeting 30+ new Lexingtonians, from all walks of life, who are willing to sacrifice their time to give back to our community. We truly could not have asked for a better panel.

The care and thoughtfulness that Kit Anderson, Lilly Bramley, and our whole staff brought to bringing our panelists in, making them feel welcome and grounded.

The incredible facilitation prowess of Tanya Torp. Thank you Tanya for bringing such joy to this process!

Getting to watch Stephanie Mobley run our local government 101 classroom lesson with panelists. She's such a pro!

Almost crying multiple times during our opening when we had people share "their Lexington". The way that every single person talked about our shared home was so deeply touching. One panelist even wrote a poem!

Hearing all the takeaway words from panelists at the end of the day: optimistic, encouraged, welcomed, intrigued, excited, empowered

Having Lexington's Mayor and Vice Mayor both express surprise to me that they didn't know anyone on the panel.

And, of course, in true Lexington fashion, learning that the Mother in Law of one of the panelists is currently on a vacation in South Carolina with my mom and a set of friends.

More to come soon — our next session is in 48 hours!