CitiesGoGreen - October 2008 - (Page 27) successful. There are still folks that are skeptical, there are still some for whom this is not a high priority, and that’s a challenge. But I do have the support of Mayor Coody, and that always helps when I’m going into these meetings. with around the country, because each one is local to their particular city. In Fayetteville we have a big interest in water issues, so that’s something I work with a lot more than someone in another part the country might. The background that a person needs will be There are a lot of common sense things you can do, different depending on what you want them to if you just think about it. be able to do. Is there any advice you would offer to other people working in your position, based on your experience so far? There are so many good opportunities and things to be involved with, it’s really easy to spread yourself thin. You need to establish goals for what you are trying to accomplish early on and then stick to them. I have so many broad interests and there is so much going on in our community, it’s easy for me to want to get involved with many different groups and initiatives. But in order to maximize your effectiveness, you’ve got to establish priorities and stick to them. That’s something I definitely learned over the last year, and I still sometimes have a difficult time with it. It’s hard to say no when somebody comes to you and says, hey, I want you to be on this committee to look at sustainable transportation initiatives. Well, that’s a really good thing, and it’s something that’s very interesting to me, so it would make sense for me to get involved. But at the same time, I’ve got 20 or 30 other things going on that need my attention. You’ve really got to set your priorities. How can other cities and counties find out more about what you doing in Fayetteville? We are in the process right now of building a web site, and I am also glad to have people contact me with questions. I have some good information and templates that I can send out showing all of the different things that we’ve done. For further details about Fayetteville’s energy conservation and sustainability projects, contact John Coleman at 475-575-8272 or email jcoleman@ ci.fayetteville.ar.us. Comments and additional materials at CitiesGoGreen.com He’s the one who really saw the need for someone to be hired into my position. He has shown a lot of leadership in this area, it’s something that he’s very passionate about, and it certainly helps when you have that kind of passion for this issue from the very top. This is such a unique and new position that there’s no blueprint, no set path you can expect someone to go through to become a sustainability coordinator. You have to look at what you want their responsibilities to be, what you want them to accomplish, and then look for someone with the characteristics you feel would fit that position. My position varies from other coordinator positions or sustainability directors that I’ve talked WHAT’S WORKING FOR YOU? WHAT’S SOMETHING INNOVATIVE YOUR COMMUNITY IS DOING TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE? It could be a: WE’LL PUBLISH YOUR RESPONSES on the CitiesGoGreen.com website Please include: By sharing what we know, we can all move ahead more quickly and e ectively. Email your response to: WhatWorks@CitiesGoGreen.com October 2008 27 http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://citiesgogreen.com
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