Ideas and tips to get along and get stuff done-------- ------- -AJune 25, 2025

New Talks on Topics for Our Times

Folks, I've been working on my Keynote Speeches and I have four new topics

Town and School Collaboration for Long Term Stability

A model process in Gorham, Maine

The Gorham Fiscal Sustainability Committee was chartered by both the Town Council and School Committee to increase understanding of how town and school policy decisions affect long term finances and ultimately, property taxes.

In the photo along with me are Gorham Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak and Gorham Superintendent of Schools Dr. Heather Perry.

A multi-stakeholder group of School Committee Members, Town Councilors, school and town leadership staff, and members of the public, the Committee met 11 times over the course of a year and developed 18 recommendations.

Among the more innovative recommendations is the establishment of a public dashboard of Fiscal Indicators: eight specific trends that public policy leaders will be encouraged to follow and understand. The recommendations also call for better communications to the public so that fiscal impacts of policies are better understood.

Here's a 4-min video that I made about the process and the report. I was so happy to do this project in my role as Senior Vice President for SGR, Strategic Government Resources. Please write to me if you would like a copy of the report, or of course you can get one from the folks in Gorham.

Registration is free for all members of the Listen First Coalition

Learn more here

Bridging the Political Divide:

How to Talk to Someone Who Disagrees with your Politics

Thursday June 26xx|xx1pm Maine Timexx|xxWMPGxx|xx90.9

How do we talk to our neighbors who have different political opinions than we do? Social media has become the modern public square and some of the discourse here can be angry and hurtful.

Joining our host, Belinda Ray, is Craig Freshley, a powerhouse facilitator known for helping groups build trust and find common ground. Craig is the author of Together We Decide: An Essential Guide for Making Good Group Decisions.

Thursday June 26th., 1pm tune in to WMPG FM to listen to the discussion.

Would you call your

group "high functioning?

Download this free Good Group Handout to see how you measure up, and maybe where you can improve. > > >

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More Links To Help You Get Along

Written and published by Craig Freshley. Thanks for walking along with me.