First meeting of Raleigh Neighborhood College

I went to my first meeting of the Raleigh Neighborhood College last Thursday. I would’ve blogged about it that night but it turned out I was out later than I expected.

The classes are held at Peace College, incredibly convenient to my job. I arrived a little after five, walked into the dining hall, got introduced to Charlene Willard (one of Raleigh’s Community Specialists) and enjoyed a fine dinner while getting to know my fellow classmates. Twenty-five citizens from all over the city share the class. They’re a very energetic, friendly bunch, too, from what I’ve gathered.

The presentation last week was on the city and county governments. First up was Wake Deputy County Manager Joe Durham, who had a very engaging presentation on Wake services and facts.

Until his talk I didn’t fully considered how Wake and Raleigh’s service areas overlap, unlike the arrangements in some states. I’ve always taken this for granted, I suppose. Though Mr. Durham mentioned many areas where Raleigh and Wake form a partnership, I would like to see even more coordination.

The second half was a talk by one of Raleigh’s assistant city managers, whose name escapes me now (Update: Julian Prosser). He rattled off a large list of city services and service opportunities for us. I’m afraid there was just too much to convey! It was all good, though, if a bit overwhelming.

The part I enjoyed best was meeting so many fine, committed citizens: some of them long-time Raleighites but a large number of newcomers, too. The highlight for me was getting to meet them during our dinner and breaks. I imagine I’ll have 25 new friends by the time our classes are over.

This week’s class meets in Raleigh’s emergency communications facility, where we’ll tour the 911 center as well as Raleigh’s community access television studio. Both of these are already familiar to me but I’ll enjoy visiting them again.

So far this seems a great way to spend the next 11 Thursday nights.