Regarding YLNI: YLNI has again sponsored and staffed the Barr St. market for the third year in a row, after it had been dormant for years. It is run by all volunteers committed to allowing NE Ind. businesses access to downtown fort wayne traffic, and increase the activity downtown by maintaining an event with a constant presence throughout the summer (instead of one isolated event). We are proud of the work that those volunteers do…however insignificant it may be to some.

YLNI has recently completed its first “Get on Board” initiative. It took place in two phases. First, Leadership Ventures, an organization dedicated to developing leaders in the non-profit sector, facilitated an interactive training session to prepare YLNI members for leadership positions on community boards. Second, area non-profits were invited to promote their organizations to YLNI membership and recruit board/committee members. Over twenty organizations were represented at the event.

Moreover, many YLNI members already sit on various board in the community. Several of them received recognition through their involvement in YLNI. Your note about YLNI members in elected office is noted. Also, YLNI is a non-profit and does not endorse candidates. I would have loved to have been able to support Adam Mildred as Young Leader. Obviously, we could not. That said, I believe YLNI has an audience and presence with several elected officials and boards that seek to promote economic development.

As for Government in general, YLNI is also currently undertaking its due diligence into the ongoing government efficiency initiative and is forming a committee to determine what, if anything, YLNI can do educate members/community regarding the initiative in a non-partisan manner.

Finally, Kristina, I don’t know what is too old to be in YLNI. Regardless if you are a member, YLNI always benefits from its relationships with those people and organizations that are willing to share their knowledge and experience with them. It strikes me as odd that so many are simply willing to give up and assume that YLNI isn’t worthy of time/consideration. Quite frankly, it works both ways. Being a member in YLNI has allowed its members the proverbial “seat at the table” that they might otherwise not have. Conversely, it provides a vehicle for those that truly want to effectuate change (young or old) to tap into a young crowd that is naive enough to still think they can make a difference.

Phil, YLNI will be doing Candidate’s Night again this year. There were a lot of candidates on the ballot last year, so you’re assessment was spot-on.

Mike & Phil, I am no stranger to the 412. Many Fridays I struggle last until 4:12 to make it to 412.

Mike, thanks for the support. I hope to play Vball again soon. It’s kinda tough to play when both your wife and teammate are having babies (two kids each over the past two years or so).

Thanks all for the continued discussion.

That being said, they did an excellent job of providing useful information in their 2007 voting guide for city elections. I believe they stated where each candidate key issues (including those that the Journal Gazette incorrectly dismissed as being irrelevant). I don’t think they let their own personal bias have much affect on how they presented the candidates.

I think the candidates forum that they sponsored was a bit shallow, but that was only due to lack of time. The truth is that not many of the candidates or citizens would have stuck around for enough time to allow everyone to adequately explain their positions.

It would have been nice to see them do something similar this year for at least the local races. I think this would have established them as being a very credible group in the community. Admittedly I am speaking largely from ignorance here, but it doesn’t appear as though they have done anything useful lately.

I am now officially “too old” to be a YLNI but even if I was within the age range – I wouldn’t join up.

YLNI is a social group and while I don’t doubt that its members give back to the community through charitable efforts, I see no activity in trying to move Fort Wayne forward from an economic perspective.

To do that, members would need to be heavily involved in the school boards, city and county councils, and other key, elected positions.

What leadership positions are you all holding out for?

I agree with you about the problems of communicating in the blogoshere. I also think a lot of times people come to one site after already having been riled up at another, and their frustrations, anger, excitement, etc. just carries over. Then the introduction of this into another thought stream sometimes causes ill effects there. I know that I have met several local bloggers, and this does have a positive impact on how well I understand their blog posts and comments.

And just for the record, I want it to be known that I am doing my part to support 412. I was just there last night for drinks and diner, and have Byron as my witness.

You and Mike are welcome to come down to the River City Volleybar and have a beer sometime before it gets too cold out. You can even both have a free Busch-light or two on the house! (ok, well, I’m trying to get rid of them… There is realer beer upstairs).

But anyway Mike has played in my league before and his tone may be being misconstrued here. It is tough on the internet obviously where you can’t read body language or hear word stresses.

Or if not then go support the 412 and help them out and keep them going because I don’t want to hear anymore rumors about them possibly closing… Support a long existing downtown business…

Yes, I think we met and spoke at the thirsty Camel one night. This was either election night or after the Mayoral debates at the library. I want to clarify a couple things about my position and how it comes across sometimes.

Sometimes I use the blog comments just to shoot off a purposely sarcastic or even rude comment. I also do the same thing sometimes when I speak at City Council. My reasons for this are that if I do not feel that the other side is going to engage in genuine conversation, then there really is no point in even trying to pretend. I just kind of say “F*** You”, with a smile and leave it at that.

Although I don’t always use this style on my blog posts, it is sometimes prompted by those on the other side of the issue. Of course, I admit that sometimes I am the first one to throw the bomb at times. But I am far less likely to take this approach when speaking in person with someone. If I am recalling you correctly, and our discussion, we were obviously on different sides of the issue but neither of us framed it as a personal attack. I guess maybe the lack of face to face interaction here sometimes makes it too easy to follow the low road.

I do appreciate your position and especially the fact that you usually try to convey it in a civil manner. That being said, I would like to give you something to consider:

A lot of H.S. supporters keep telling people who oppsed it to “Just get over it.” While I agree that is often useful advice for many situations, I don’t think it should be applied here. First of all, I would bet money that the financing for H.S. is not yet finished. It looks like the condo sales are not going as planned and this will probably result in a slowdown of the construction very soon. I think it very likely that the city will begin to add more public dollars to this project to keep this from happening. There has to be some limit – it really can’t just be a blank check. So I think our concerns are valid.

But even if H.S. itself receives no further money from the city, this project still deserves much review as it will be relevant for many years to come for a comparison to new projects of a similar type. I definitely understand the point that some people actually seem to want H.S. to fail, but I really think there are a lot of legitimate points that come from that side as well.

Anyway, drop me a line sometime and we can get together for a beer and talk politics. I promise I won’t be profane, if you’ll promise not to call me a hater – LOL.

Phil Marx
marxpd01@ipfw.edu

I have never expressed any interest in purchasing a Harrison Square condo…publicly or privately.

That said, when I moved to Ft. Wayne after law school my wife and I purchased our first home. We had every expectation of selling it within a few years. We did that, and now live in a larger home within the city limits, where we intend to raise our children. I never had the option of purchasing a Harrison Square condo that I could actually live in, nor would it be a responsible decision to do so now.

Frankly, Dan, I’m not surprised that you missed the point of my post. Your too busy criticizing others to recognize that you are actually hurting something that you might ultimately come to support – take Dr. Crawford for example.

Having personally spoken to both you and Phil (I think) I know you both to be knowledgeable about many topics – including local government. What otherwise might be things that young people can learn from you ultimately fall on deaf ears do to the manner in which the message is conveyed.

YLNI claims to have a network of over 1,050 people. Your slogan of “get involved, make a difference” doesn’t seem to be affecting the purchase of condos at The Harrison. Surely you, maybe Heather Schoegler who now works for OLG marketing the condos, or Luke Squires who works for 1st Source Bank could step up to the plate and buy a condo.

If YLNI members really did care about this project, why haven’t a paltry 3% of your membership came through and put their money where their collective mouths are? 3% would be 31 condo sales.

The inactions of YLNI’s members speak for themselves.

I can assure you that I do not match your description of a YLNI member or leader in the slightest. I am a board member of YLNI support the advancement of Northeast Indiana as a vibrant community that embraces the role of young people. The initiative often requires seeking a common ground with those with whom I often differ politically.

YLNI and its endeavors is limited only by those willing to step up and support the cause and lead the way. As a young adult (and one who attends YLNI functions), I would be very surprised if you did not support the cause. Thus, if you differ with the direction that you see from some of the leadership of YLNI, I’m asking if you are willing to be a part of the solution to the perceived problem? If so, please feel free to contact me and we can talk over lunch or whenever is convenient.

This site and some posters are quick to write-off YLNI because they might disagree with some action(s) that it has taken. That is truly unfortunate. This community is starving to embrace young leadership. While it’s more convenient to criticize, it’s more rewarding to be a part of helping YLNI become successful. It’s like voting, if you don’t do your part, you aren’t exactly in the best position to criticize. So please, feel free to contact me at any time…I’m easy to find.

Michael