Greenville Forward
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About Greenville Forward

Someone needs to wake up thinking about Greenville Forward

 

Board of Directors

Sally Sarratt, Chairman
McMillan Pazdan Smith Group

Jim Burns, Past Chairman
Carolina First
Greenville County Council

Mark Cothran
Treasurer/Secretary
Greenville Chamber of Commerce

Allen Hamada,
Energy and Control Systems

Rebecca Crown
Greenville Hospital System
Travelers Rest City Council

Chandra Dillard
Furman University
SC House of Representatives

Angela Halfacre
Furman University
Shi Center for Sustainability

Curtis Harkness
Greenville Technical College

Ben Haskew
Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce

David Johnstone
Greenville County Gifted Center

Josh Lane
Ferebee Lane/LG Alumni Association

Mellone Long
Greenville County Planning Council

Phyllis Martin
United Way of Greenville

Alfred Middleton
Greenville County Human Relations Commision

Deb Richardson Moore
Triune Mercy Center

Liz Seman
Meals on Wheels

Gene Smith
Greenville County Recreation District

 

Staff

Russell Stall
Executive Director

Brock Koonce
Program Director

Kate Hofler
Marketing and Communications Director

Click to see staff biographies

 
 

Our Mission:

Greenville Forward seeks to enhance the quality of life for greater Greenville by engaging all citizens in continually updating, promoting, and facilitating a community vision for 2025 and beyond.

Greenville Forward was created in January 2006 to help Greenville achieve Vision 2025, the bold, comprehensive, and aggressive plan to create a vibrant Greenville in the next twenty-five years. By having a group like Greenville Forward, whose sole purpose is to facilitate, coordinate, and communicate the ideas from Vision 2025, the aggressive goals for Vision 2025 will be kept vibrant, alive, and attainable.

While many of the ideas of the Vision would "just happen" even if Greenville Forward didn't exist, an organization focused on the Vision will help programs happen more quickly, logically, cheaper, and with fewer duplications.

To make the Vision a reality, Greenville Forward focuses on the following program of work:

Measure progress and share community report cards in reaching Vision 2025 goals.

Develop key Vision success metrics and measure annual goal attainment in an understandable and meaningful format.
Create and distribute periodical reports of Vision 2025 progress.
Develop detailed report cards of performance for selected Vision areas. Release, on a staggered basis, reports of progress and identify the gaps in community performance.
Conduct annual quantitative surveys of community perceptions of performance toward goal attainment.
Develop and host programs to acknowledge, recognize, and encourage organizations and individuals who are making a difference in the Greenville community.

Be the primary community contact and advocate for Vision 2025.

Build awareness of and creatively educate the public about Vision 2025 and community needs.
Develop and deliver presentations to the community, funding and advocacy partners, and other interested organizations as the voice of Vision 2025.
Be the primary press contact and community relations voice to educate and promote the public about current Vision 2025 efforts.
Provide a significant, useful, and "cool" Greenville Vision 2025 web presence.
Manage relationships with volunteer leaders committed to leading specific efforts through Leadership Greenville alumni and other organizations.

Identify and develop young, emerging talent in and help them become engaged and connected in Greenville's future.

Provide programs to allow Upstate leaders to interact and initiate vision dialogue; including hosting speakers, educational programs, and simulations.
Develop emerging talent through educational programs and networking forums as an extension of programs like Leadership Greenville, Youth Leadership Greenville, PULSE, and the Greenville Forum.
Provide programs to allow Upstate leaders to interact and initiate vision dialogue; including hosting speakers and educational programs.
Connect potential leaders by forming organizations like the Creative 50, host a Greenville Manifesto Conference, and create a Youth Renaissance Weekend.
Coordinate with leaders and organizations from the ten county region, the foothills, and teh state to develop regional initiatives and encourage productive partnerships.

Help non-profit and community-driven organizations meet strategic goals which support the Vision by providing consulting, guidance, and support.

Establish a volunteer network to consult with and support local non-profit organizations.
Consult with and guide regional non-profits in board development, visioning, fundraising, and strategic planning.
Develop educational, social, and networking forums to encourage cooperation between non-profit and community agencies.
House the strategic plans of selected community organizations in Greenville to avoid duplication of efforts in the community.
Be an active participant in the activities of non-profit organizations throughout the region.

As a community steward, support individual projects that help reach Vision 2025 initiatives.

Identify and create key community projects that are the focus of vision efforts.
Facilitate collaborations and alliances to be a catalyst for community project implementation.
Participate in community-based initiatives as needed throughout the region.