Macon Magazine

O C TO B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M 5 7 r e p o rt to th e co m m u n it y 7 | l e A d e r S h i p "it WaS, truly, the moSt inSpiring day of my knight career," said Lynn Murphey, Knight Founda- tion Macon Program Director. Scott Mitchell, owner of Travis Jean Emporium, said "It is going to change you and your belief system. It will help you help other people." Their sentiments echo those of the 5,000 people who participated in On The Table Macon 2018. Knight Foundation selected the Community Foundation of Central Georgia to be one of 10 communities to host the national event, which brings residents together for mealtime conversation about ways to address community issues. For Mitchell's table, the conversa- tion was about income inequality and homelessness. "On The Table was about figuring out the problem, then finding a solution, together," he said. "And you can't go into the conversation with expectations, because the answer may not be what you think." "We thought people would say they're hungry, but the number one thing mentioned was no access to public restrooms," he said. As an outcome of that conversa- tion, Mitchell applied for and received a grant to fund public restrooms in Macon. "As a direct outcome from On The Table 2018, the Community Foundation offered Conversation to Action mini-grants which funded 17 projects, totaling $15,000 in commu- nity-driven ideas," Murphey said. This year's On The Table, slated for October 30, will expand to Milledgeville, and Murphey encour- aged everyone to take a seat at the table, saying, "The more communities participating in this experience, the better for all. We want participants to gain a new understanding of how to address issues facing their community and we hope On The Table will spur new connections and encourage civic action." MARYANN BATES MARYANN BATES real conversatIons, real change on The TabLe MaCon 2018 Bi County

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