Metropolitan Club, Dispatch foster conversations
The topics range from policing the city to the latest state budget, from how to create a giant park along Greater Columbus waterways to reducing infant mortality, and from downtown development to teaching Black history in Ohio schools.
These and many other important topics are discussed each Wednesday at noon in Columbus Metropolitan Club community conversations. They are held in person during luncheons at the Boat House restaurant on Spring Street near Downtown, and they are streamed free online so that anyone can listen and join the conversation.
The Dispatch and the Metropolitan Club have a longstanding and synergistic relationship. We have the same goals: Provide facts that will inform community conversations about current events and issues vital to our society.
The Dispatch does that daily with news and information in print and online. We also host separate forums in an effort to include as many people as possible in the discussions. In August, for example, Dispatch Opinion and Engagement Editor Amelia Robinson hosted a Dispatch Columbus Conversation, sponsored by The Columbus Foundation, about critical race theory, which was streamed on Dispatch.com and the newspaper’s Facebook page.
This month, Robinson will host a virtual forum on Oct. 26 about the employment situation in Greater Columbus in an effort to better understand why so many companies are displaying “help wanted” and “hiring” signs amid a pandemic that has had so many effects on the economy.
The Metropolitan Club was founded in 1976 by 13 women who, like other women, had been excluded from private lunch clubs and speaker groups, according to the group’s website. “They included and actively recruited members from all walks of life – men, women, all races, religions, and ages. Their club and speakers would be open to everyone and provide meaningful dialogue and exchange of information and ideas to any and all residents in Central Ohio who were interested.”
Our organizations have been partners in these discussions for many years. The Dispatch is a Metropolitan Club sponsor and sometimes a participant by providing panelists or moderators for the weekly discussions.
Metropolitan Club President and CEO Jane Scott says she and her team depend on The Dispatch for news and information that spark ideas or provide foundational facts for club forums. On the flip side, we sometimes cover the forums because, as Scott says, “There are times when news is breaking here.” And each Wednesday, we post a link on Dis
patch.com to the streaming video of that day’s conversation.
This past Wednesday, Dispatch Managing Editor Kelly Lecker interviewed Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant about her job and the challenges she and the police division face in building trust with the community and to address the rise in violent crime here.
“It’s an entire community that is moving forward and driving that change,” Bryant said in the wide-ranging interview. “It’s absolutely the time to move forward to take this division to the next level. It’s absolutely doable and we’re going to do it.”
As reported by Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner, who covered the event, Bryant said she knows she will be succeeding when the community is safe, meaning less crime of all kinds, and more community members engaged with police and each other.
“You should be able to sit on your
porch and not worry about someone accosting you,” she said. “Your child should be able to ride their bike in the street and you shouldn’t have to worry about a drag racer running them over. You should be able to walk to the corner store and not worry about stray bullets.”
Voters guide on the way
The large number of candidates and issues on the fall ballot created some challenges in pulling together information you need to make informed decisions. Our goal always is to get that information online as early voting begins. We have been rolling out stories about key races and issues on the Nov. 2 ballot, and this week we will launch the online Voters Guide, sponsored by The Dispatch, Thisweek Community News, The Advocate in Newark, The Eaglegazette in Lancaster and WBNS-10TV.
Watch for the link on all of our websites.
Alan D. Miller is editor of The Dispatch. amiller@dispatch.com @dispatcheditor