By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Civic and Commerce Association is starting off the new year with their annual Community Kick-Off event which is slated for next Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the NY Mills Regional Cultural Center.

The event is intended to inform the community about what the Civic and Commerce has accomplished in the past year, as well as their plans for the coming year. They are also very interested in hearing new ideas and other updates from the general public.

“I’m looking forward to being face-to-face with community members, having open conversations and sharing ideas,” said Civic and Commerce President, Julie Roberts. “I hope people are able to gather information on areas where they might have some interest, maybe where they might like to get involved in the community, or even just to bring forth ideas for us to focus on.”

The event will feature a light meal at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will start at 6 p.m. when Roberts will introduce the evening’s program. The evening’s speakers will include:

• State of the City Address by Mayor Latham Hetland

• State of the School District by Superintendent Adam Johnson

• Elevate Update by Program Manger Mindi Larson (tentative)

• Family Resource Center update by Director Sara Hotakainen and MAHUBE-OTWA representatives

• #NYMForward Update by Latham Hetland and Julie Roberts

• Keynote Speaker Kim Konikow will speak about the new Strategic Framework Plan

“We’re going to be talking about the different things we’re working on like the Housing Survey and the Energy Resilience Program through West Central Initiative,” said Roberts. “We’re also going to hear about the new Strategic Framework Plan and introduce the survey.”

Roberts said that everyone is invited who would want to hear the Civic and Commerce’s update on what they’re doing in NY Mills and hopes that anyone interested would attend and share their thoughts and ideas.