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74 MACONMAGAZINE.COM About Leadership Macon The Leadership Macon program provides leadership training and community orientation to individuals seeking to become more involved in the growth and development of Macon-Bibb County. The year-long program introduces a class of upcoming community leaders to the attributes, opportunities and challenges of the local community. With this knowledge, the class can explore possible projects and solutions, interact with political and community leaders, and develop relationships that will benefit each class member and the community for many years to come. Leadership Macon also promotes civic responsibility by encouraging involvement, and by cultivating enthusiasm and dedication. It is the ultimate goal of Leadership Macon that its participants will enrich our community through active involvement in shaping its future. By encouraging the utilization of the leadership capabilities of its participants and its large base of alumni, Leadership Macon is meeting the challenge. For more information, visit LeadershipMacon.org. by Kacy Keene, Leadership Macon Class of 2015 E ach year, the Leadership Macon class studies the attributes and challenges to Macon-Bibb County and is tasked with developing and completing a class project that will have a lasting impact on our community. Leadership Macon 2015 decided to think outside the box and do something different for our class project. We decided to embrace downtown revitalization and renovate Second Street Lane. Our class project chair Erin Keller says it best, "We wanted to capture the community-wide momentum for downtown as well as set the precedent that downtown is for everyone." We aimed to shed some light on the often dark, empty spaces that occupy downtown. Our goal was simple, to make the alley more inviting to pedestrians and create a sense of "urban-play." Revamping an entire alley was no simple task, but we were fortunate to have government officials and local businesses on board. The Urban Development Authority, Macon-Bibb's Parks and Beautification, W&T Designs, and Mayor Robert Reichert's office were vital to the successful completion of this project. The bookends of our alley are Poplar Street Park which now has a large concrete ping pong table and Mulberry Street Park where we've installed four new benches, updated the trash receptacles, and added a Wi-Fi hotspot offering free Wi-Fi for downtown patrons. Walking down our alley you'll see bistro lighting has been installed, there are now window boxes and greenery where a graffiti-covered wall once was, chalkboards are now hung to act as a creative space activator, and a hopscotch course encourages the kid in everyone to give it a try. We wanted people from all walks of life to appreciate Macon's urban core and believe we have succeeded. Hundreds of games have been played on the ping pong table, artists have livened up our chalk boards, couples photos have been taken under our bistro lights, and both children and adults have enjoyed playing hopscotch. Our class motto is, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Downtown truly came together, just like us, to make this project a success! Leadership Macon: Building Community