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The conversations, open to all, are coming to Dayton, Trotwood and Kettering Sept. 29-Oct. 3 and are sponsored by the Dayton Daily News, WHIO-TV and 1290 and 95.7 WHIO Radio, WYSO radio and Your Voice Ohio, a statewide media collaborative of more than 50 news outlets.
More than 1,000 people have participated in the Your Voice Ohio media project in the past two years to discuss addiction, the economy and most recently, what the community agenda should be as national elections approach in 2020 and many Montgomery County communities and schools hold local elections this November.
Journalists use the conversations to hear from diverse voices in the community as they report on trends, solutions and hold public officials accountable.
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“Our community has rallied time and time again. Now, in the wake of the tornadoes and mass shooting and ahead of the next election, we want to hear what readers believe the future of the Dayton region should be,” Dayton Daily News Editor Jim Bebbington said.
So, in the Dayton-area meetings, residents will be asked:
• What does a community look like where people are happy and live fulfilled lives?
• What would you change about your community to move in the direction of happy and fulfilled lives?
• What are the assets of the community that can be applied to making change?
• What are actions that can be taken by leaders, people and journalists to can bring about those changes?
In the Marietta-Parkersburg area, conversations about addiction resulted in improvements to an addiction hotline, creation of a drug court and research on which treatments are most effective for addiction recovery.
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Join the two-hour conversations. Refreshments will be served.
• Dayton: 6-8 p.m. Monday Sept. 30, Dayton Main Library, 215 E, 3rd St
• Kettering: 6-8 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 1, Kettering-Moraine branch of the Dayton Metro Library, 3496 Far Hills Ave.
• Trotwood: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 2, Trotwood Community & Cultural Arts Center, 4000 Lake Center Dr.
• Dayton: 6-8 p.m. Thursday Oct. 3, White House Event Center, 101 E 2nd St.
• Lebanon: 1:30- 3:30 p.m., Sunday, October 6, Countryside YMCA, 1699 Deerfield Rd.
• Springboro: 6-8 p.m. Monday, October 7, YMCA of Greater Dayton – Coffman Family Branch, 88 Remick Blvd.
For more information and to register for a session, go to https://yourvoiceohio.org/events/.
Doug Oplinger is former managing editor of the Akron Beacon Journal and now leads the news engagement of Your Voice Ohio. He can be emailed at doplinger@yourvoiceohio.org. The Jefferson Center, a civic engagement non-profit in St. Paul, designs the community conversations and manages the web presence.
Dayton: 6-8 p.m. Monday Sept. 30, Dayton Main Library, 215 E, 3rd St
• Kettering: 6-8 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 1, Kettering-Moraine branch of the Dayton Metro Library, 3496 Far Hills Ave.
• Trotwood: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 2, Trotwood Community & Cultural Arts Center, 4000 Lake Center Dr.
• Dayton: 6-8 p.m. Thursday Oct. 3, White House Event Center, 101 E 2nd St.
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