BlueWindow has embraced key focus areas that we believe are social and moral imperatives: food security and sustainable supply chains; strong communities that keep our youth safe; good governance and effective policy implementation; and enabling and empowering quality of life changes.
We advance those objectives by leading transformative strategic planning, applying integrated marketing solutions and Best Practices; and collaborations with companies and organizations that share those principles and have themselves committed to Change For The Better.
So last week was particularly exhilarating when our involvement was invited with groups across Kansas. Each is making a difference in their own right. And many are coalescing around common goals. Noteworthy was the perspective of one participant at the inaugural meeting of the PreventionWorKS Coalition in Wichita that, when these entities act in unison, a “loud Thunderclap” can be felt. What a wonderful metaphor.
Our past work in Community and Economic Development exposed us to the work of Ed Morrison at Purdue’s Center For Regional Development, www.pcrd.purdue,edu) an economic development think tank whose principles of “Strategic Doing” we believe can be generalized and applied to the behavioral health ecosytem and have just as profound an impact on the strength and health of communities.
According to Morrison, “Strategic Doing” is a strategy discipline specifically designed for open, loosely-connected networks designed for situations in which nobody can tell anybody else what to do as in hierarchal organizations. Collaboration is the only way to move forward.
True. But it’s our observation that leadership and a strategic framework for moving forward is still critical and needs a champion.
So, we thank those who made it an exhilarating week for us and applaud them for forging sustainable coalitions and collaborations that promise meaningful change for the better: PreventionWorKS , Kansas Prevention Collaborative, Kansas Coalition For Problem Gambling, Northeast Kansas Problem Gambling Task Force, South Central Kansas Problem Gambling Task Force, Southwest Problem Gambling Task Force, Kansas Family Partnership, Kansas Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety & Technology, Wichita State Community Engagement Institute, Kansas Community Services and Programs Commission/Behavioral Health Services, and Staffers at the Kansas Legislature who help us track policy and budgets.
It is a source of pride to be associated with these agencies and organizations. And it is a privilege and joy to be in the company of all those dedicated individuals who keep their organizations’ vibrant and relevant. Normally we’d say “they are too numerous to cite individually” but these are exceptional people.
Sarah Fisher, Juan Baez, Nicole Stejskal, Joyce Markham, Carol Spiker, Gwen Tomas, Michelle Neis, Max Wilson, Brian Baker, Chris Bortz, Gary Herman, Phyllis Marotta, Barbara Coates, Sue Matson, Andy Brown, Shana Burgess, Randy Johnson, Codi Manning, Steve Christenberry, Paige Crum, Heather Winklelpleck, Sondra Borth, Chris Maxwell, Stephanie Roberts, Debbie Snapp, Aaron Myrick , Debra McKenzie, Lucy Roldan Smith, Kevin Bost, Peter Gusman, Mahila Gusman, Andrica Wilcoxen, Carla Smith, Anne Maack, Chad Childs, Brad Luthe, Sharon Kearse, Jason Vandecreek, Daryl Steward, Dola Gabriel, Donna Doolin, Joyce Schrimsher, Jack Schrimsher, Jared Wareham, Darin Goodrum, Andy Albright, Dee Heideman, Carla Smith, Glenna Andrews, Jesse Andrews, JoAnn Briles-Klein, Jeff Kaufman, Etienna Mertel, Phil Murphy, Richard Klemp, Stephenie Roberts, Paul Sanford, Randy Waldren, Jenny Wu, Judy Whetzel, and Carolyn Bridges.
Thanks for including us and sharing your stories.
