TALLAHASSEE, FL—The Knight Creative Communities Institute has selected 30 members to be a part of its 2009-2010 Catalyst Class.

These “community catalysts” will work together with local leaders and advocates to develop projects aimed at diversifying Tallahassee’s economy beyond government and education.  Members of the first Knight Creative Class were responsible for producing the Tallahassee Film Festival, the environmental group Sustainable Tallahassee and the Get Gaines Going Initiative to turn the street into an arts and entertainment district.

“We really focused on diversity this year—background, experience, industry, age, gender and ethnicity,” said Laurie Hartsfield, executive director of the institute, which is based at Tallahassee Community College. “I think we’ve got a very talented and creative group of individuals who reflect our community’s demographics really well.”

The catalysts, who were selected from more than 140 applicants, will combine the work of renowned social theorist Richard Florida with survey data and community dialogue to devise new ways to help the city’s economy grow.  The volunteers will begin by participating in a three-day training seminar and continue to meet over the course of a year.

“A part of what makes Tallahassee such a great city is the ability for everyone, no matter who you are, to have a real chance at changing history through opportunities like KCCI,” explained new catalyst Valerie Wickboldt, Communications Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend. “I’m excited to work with all the new catalysts to highlight today’s Tallahassee and help it progress into the Tallahassee of tomorrow.”

Community Catalysts

Ronald Baker                          Shawn Kalbli                          Jay Revell       

Jovita Bakker                          Nadia Kamal                           Jenny Robertson

Betsy Barfield                         Jake Kiker, III                         Gerri Seay

Mike Campbell                        Rod Lipscomb                        Marty Sipple

Cory Couch                             Julie Lovelace                         Kim Smalls

Hetal Desai                             Bill Mattox                              William Smith

John Fleming                           Leslie Mille                             John Webb

Ben Graybar                            John Parker                             Valerie Wickboldt

Crystal Green                          Susan Pourciau                        Kawana Williams

Lewis James, III                     Casie Reinholt                         Sarah Wilson

From U.S. News & World Report:

Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida may not seem an ideal spot to land post-recession, given that the state’s housing market was among the most extreme to boom and bust. But the unemployment rate in the state’s capital city is still 3 percentage points below the state average. Tallahassee has seen job growth in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and in the government sector. “It has fared better than a lot of other cities,” says Laurie Hartsfield, executive director of the Knight Creative Communities Institute at Tallahassee Community College. “A lot of it has to do with being a state capital.”

While the government sector is responsible for nearly a third of the city’s employment, the city has also been helped by its universities–Florida State University and Florida A&M are both based in Tallahassee–as well as an economy driven largely by small businesses that may not have contracted as much in the recession, says J. Michael Pate, a program director for the Knight Foundation.

See the full article here.

Matt Oglesby • Contributing Writer • August 3, 2009

Where has all the talent gone? The short answer is that it is everywhere but here in Tallahassee. Why? That’s what the Knight Creative Communities Institute works to find out.

“These days, young professionals choose where they want to live before whom they work for,” Knight Creative Communities Institute Program Director Mike Pate said. “So a lot of the conversation revolves around the kind of place your community is. Does it have things to do and places to go that encourage students and creative individuals to stay in the community after graduation? That’s what the Knight Creative Communities Institute is all about — identifying these possibilities and moving Tallahassee in that direction. And clearly, with 40,000 students, FSU is a major component.”

KCCI is currently conducting a study to find out how to retain talent in Tallahassee, according to Pate.

“We have a study in the field right now, handled by a company called Collegia, which compares the percentage of students who stay in the community to the percentage that leave,” Pate said. “And then, as part of that same study, they assess why students make these decisions and formulate a set of recommendations, based on what students tell us, that indicate how we might change the community to make Tallahassee more attractive. In many respects we’ve found it comes down to the town and gown relationship.”

In many instances individuals come to Tallahassee, complete their degrees and then leave to settle down and pursue careers in more lucrative cities.

The Knight Foundation, a national organization devoted to journalistic excellence as well as community revitalization, aims to change that. In January 2007, Tallahassee was selected by the Knight Foundation as one of three cities nationwide to receive funding for community-driven initiatives that create organizations, events and projects aimed at catalyzing a new, sustainable economy.

“The volunteer groups that work on these projects are, in fact, called community catalysts,” Pate said. “The whole idea is to a select a group of 31 individuals best suited to determine the sorts of things we might change in the community to make it more attractive to young professionals. We don’t aim to overlay a template that says, this is what Tallahassee will be. The area will define itself. It will be whatever the community makes itself. Our responsibility is nurturing the community from underneath. It could go a variety of different directions. It’s the catalysts’ job to lay the groundwork.”

The crux of KCCI’s economic stimulus rests on research conducted by Richard Florida, a professor of Business and Creativity at the University of Toronto and author of the national bestseller The Rise of the Creative Class.

Florida’s Creative Class Group, partnered with the Knight Foundation, found that those working in the creative sector — which encompasses technological, managerial and education-based fields, as well as arts related fields — account for nearly 50 percent of U.S. workforce wages. Florida’s theory proposes that nurturing creativity, more than anything else, spells economic prosperity.

It’s not nutrition Tallahassee lacks. With Florida State University, Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M University all within a 10-mile radius, Tallahassee has an abundance of latent talent. This project is aimed at stopping the brain drain.

“The industry is here,” Pate said. “The brainpower is here. The question is: How do you bring that out? How do we encourage and nurture our academic and creative communities in ways that get students thinking about Tallahassee as the kind of place they’d like to one day open a business? Right now, students live their lives solely on campus. Our job is to find ways to encourage students to venture out and discover other areas of Tallahassee — the areas of Tallahassee that really make it a community. Because Tallahassee is not just Tennessee Street.”

The disparity between the Tallahassee that natives call home and the city in which college students temporarily reside is vast.

Surrounding campus are some of the most dangerous and dilapidated streets in the entire city. Frenchtown, one of Tallahassee’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods, is just a few blocks away. The run-down visage of Tennessee and Ocala Streets doesn’t offer up an appealing portrait of Tallahassee, nor does it provide an accurate representation. This image may explain, in part, why so many graduates decide to settle down elsewhere.

“As far as perception is concerned I definitely think there’s a disparity between a student’s experience at FSU and that of a young professional,” KCCI Executive Director Laurie Hartsfield said. “That’s what we’re hoping to do with KCCI — bridge this gap. It’s not going to happen with just three projects, it’s not going to happen with the projects from this pilot program. But hopefully, after funding for another five years by the Knight Foundation, we’ll end up with 15 to 20 really cool, innovative projects that will help make Tallahassee a community more attractive to young professionals.”

Many of these projects have already begun producing palpable results.

“The first year the catalysts were charged with creating innovative projects that would attract the creative population,” Hartsfield said. “The projects that came out of it — Get Gaines Going, Sustainable Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Film Festival — were aimed at enhancing livability.

This year we’re a bit more specific. The catalysts will be expected to come up with projects that prevent young professionals from even wanting to leave Tallahassee. And we definitely want to have students serve as catalysts this year. We’d love to have more student representation this time around.”

Applications can be found at www.tallahassee.com/kcci. More information is also available though the KCCI Facebook page as well as kccitallahassee.wordpress.com.

View the original article here.

By ELEANOR BERMAN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – I could hardly believe I was in Florida. The bright-lights hustle of South Beach and Disney were far away, and this city is strictly Old South.

Located in northern Florida near the Georgia state line, Tallahassee is surrounded by tall pines instead of palms. Antebellum homes abound, and there isn’t a high-rise condo in sight. The rich Southern flavor, the trappings of state government (Tallahassee is Florida’s capital), interesting museums and a youthful air fed by two major universities are good reason to explore here.

Fall is an ideal time to visit, and winters are mild, with plenty of sunshine and the temperature often in the 60s and 70s. A bonus: The tab will be a lot less than destinations farther south.

Tallahassee is proud of its many “canopy roads,” avenues such as Miccosukee, Centerville, Old St. Augustine, Meridian and Old Bainbridge where oaks draped with Spanish moss create green tunnels flecked with sunshine.

The city also boasts several National Historic districts, where antebellum homes and quaint cottages have been preserved as offices and residences.

Florida State University, a campus of 35,000 in the heart of town, is another asset. The school has highly regarded music and theater departments offering a wealth of concerts and plays during the school year. Florida A&M, known for its high-stepping marching band, is nearby. Both offer plenty of sports events, especially in fall when football is in full swing. At that time, half of the town’s residents seem to be decked out in garnet and gold, the Florida State colors.

One of the city’s jewels is Maclay Gardens, a 28-acre wonderland with more than 200 varieties of plants plus pools and trails. Celebrating its 55th birthday this year, it was the creation of Alfred Maclay, a New York financier, who established the gardens on the grounds of his winter home in 1923. They’re a splendid vision beginning in December when masses of camellias in 150 varieties bloom. Brick walkways and pine-needle paths invite a serene stroll beneath towering pines and oaks at any time of year.

At Mission San Luis, the state’s only remaining Spanish mission site, costumed interpreters lead visitors through each building of the re-created capital of western missions in La Florida from 1656 to 1704. San Luis was home to 1,500 Spanish and Apalachee Indian residents. An excellent museum includes a walk-through model of an archaeological dig site.

The Capitol Complex of state government buildings occupies several landscaped blocks in the heart of the city. The present high-rise capitol is of interest mainly for its top, 22nd floor, where visitors find art exhibits and a panoramic view of the city. The adjacent Old Capitol, however, with its classic dome and red-striped awnings is a nostalgic gem. Beautifully restored to the way it was in 1902, it includes the old Senate and House chambers, the Supreme Court and a surprisingly modest governor’s office.

The Old Capitol is under the umbrella of the Museum of Florida History, which has its own impressive main galleries in the state library building. While it has a unique story, Florida’s history also reflects much of America’s history. Permanent exhibits include a 9-foot-tall mastodon, Spanish galleon treasures, Civil War memorabilia, a reconstructed steamboat, and an interactive exhibit on World War II.

Kleman Plaza, a short walk from the Capitol, is home to two museums recommended for families. The Mary Brogan Museum of Art & Science, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, offers two floors of interactive science fun, including a weather station and an Eco-Lab with living sea creatures. The Challenger Learning Center has a 50-foot Digital Dome Planetarium with frequent shows and an IMAX theater.

The Tallahassee Museum at the city’s edge is another family favorite. Woodland paths on 52 acres lead to a zoo of native animals, including the endangered Florida panther and the rare red wolf. The museum also includes the restored and reconstructed buildings of an 1880s farm where crops such as cotton, sweet potatoes and sugar cane are still grown.

The main attraction at the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum is 135 prize cars, but there also are quirky collections of watches, baseball cards, outboard motors, Steinway pianos, guns, knives, jukeboxes, duck stamps, model trains, old cash registers, golf equipment and children’s pedal cars.

Knott House, an antebellum mansion, and Goodwood Museum & Gardens, an 1840 plantation under restoration, are among the classic homes in town, but they are modest compared to Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Ga., 28 miles away. Pebble Hill is a rare glimpse into the very private domains of the rich and reclusive hunting set, a tradition that began in the late 1800s. Even the stables are magnificent at this 3,000-acre estate. The columned home displays priceless antiques, equestrian and hunting art, and many Audubon prints.

Other discoveries await on easy day trips from Tallahassee. Several Tarzan movies were filmed at Wakulla Springs State Park, a 6,000-acre wildlife sanctuary 14 miles south of Tallahassee. The shallow marshes of the Wakulla River are a rich habitat for great blue herons, egrets, bald eagles and anhingas as well as turtles and sleepy-eyed alligators. All are easy to spot on the 40-minute guided boat tours.

Havana, a hamlet 12 miles from the city, is wall to wall with shops selling antiques and collectibles.

Quaint Apalachicola, with many buildings remaining from its pre-Civil War days as a thriving seaport, is a must stop on the so-called Forgotten Coast, 80 miles southwest of the city. Afterward, visit nearby St. George Island State Park, where miles of miraculously uncrowded powder-sand beaches sparkle beside the Gulf of Mexico.

Eleanor Berman is a freelance writer in New York City.

See the orginal posting of this article here.

WFLA 100.7 radio personality Preston Scott interviews Tallahassee Knight Foundation director Mike Pate about KCCI. Listen to the interview here, and search for the July 26th podcast.

WFSU: Institute Looking for Catalysts To Help Grow Tallahassee’s Economy (2009-07-16)

Listen to our interview with WFSU, featuring former catalysts Nolia Brandt, Stacey Getz and KCCI executive director Laurie Hartsfield.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Knight Creative Communities Institute is seeking volunteers to help strengthen Tallahassee’s economy.

Thirty new “community catalysts” will be selected to work together with local leaders and advocates to develop projects aimed at diversifying Tallahassee’s economy beyond government and education.  Members of the first Knight Creative Class were responsible for producing the Tallahassee Film Festival, the environmental group Sustainable Tallahassee and the Get Gaines Going Initiative to turn the street into an arts and entertainment district.

“With the success of the pilot initiative, we saw that the community identifies with our mission of creating a sense of place in Tallahassee,” said Mike Pate, Tallahassee program director for the Knight Foundation.  “With the current budget crisis hurting the engine that has driven Tallahassee for so long, we have a unique opportunity to reshape and influence the city’s economic future.”

Catalysts will combine the work of renowned social theorist Richard Florida with survey data and community dialogue to devise new ways to help the city’s economy grow.  The volunteers will begin by participating in a three-day training seminar and continue to meet over the course of a year.

“We’re looking for people with all kinds of expertise, experience and connections,” explained Laurie Hartsfield, executive director of the institute, which is based at Tallahassee Community College.  “Creative individuals who want to make a difference and have a passion for making Tallahassee a more viable community are encouraged to apply.”

Applicants must live in Tallahassee or in the immediate surrounding areas.

“Community transformation is the institute’s, and Knight Foundation’s, ultimate goal,” Pate said.  “We’re encouraged by our successes so far, and expect the new catalysts to generate at least three or four innovative projects of their own.”

According to former catalyst Gloria Pugh, CEO of A.M.W.A.T. Moving & Warehousing, “The Knight Creative Communities Institute is a great tool for awakening a community’s civic spirit and providing an opportunity to get involved.”

“I believe this effort will play a major role in helping Tallahassee attract industry and talent alike for years to come,” added former catalyst Stacey Getz, vice president of communications & external relations for the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Bend.

Applications will be accepted beginning July 15^th through 5 p.m. Aug. 14^th.  For more information about the institute or to apply to become a community catalyst, please visit www.Tallahassee.com/kcci or contact Laurie Hartsfield at (850) 201-6442.

KCCI is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  For more information about the Knight Foundation, please contact Mike Pate, program director for Tallahassee, at (850) 915-0258.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.  Knight Foundation focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change.  For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

About Tallahassee Community College’s Center for Workforce Development

The Knight Creative Communities Institute is part of the Tallahassee Community College’s Center for Workforce Development.  TCC’s Center for Workforce Development reaches out to the Big Bend community by offering customized courses and services to enhance employees’ careers, programs to improve business effectiveness, and support for returning adult learners.  Tallahassee Community College is an open admission community college serving 25,000 students annually.

Encourages area filmmakers to immerse themselves in the film process 

TALLAHASSEE—Members of the Tallahassee Film Festival, presented by Florida Commerce Credit Union, invite all amateur and professional filmmakers to compete in the 48 Hour Film Contest powered by Tallahassee.com.  The contest provides the community with the chance to be a part of the film process from conception to viewing by offering contestants the opportunity to create and submit their own short film.   

“One of the goals of the Tallahassee Film Festival is to give local cinematographers a venue to display their work to the general public,” said Bob Howard, president of the Tallahassee Film Festival.  “The 48 Hour Film Contest is a perfect vehicle in which to accomplish this goal.” 

The contest will take place March 20-22, 2009. The contest is open to anyone who assembles a team of one to five people to compete.  To enter the 48 Hour Film Contest, stop by the TCC Capitol Center from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 20, 2009. The entry fee is $50 per team. A representative from each team must register in person.  

Teams have 48 hours and a limited production budget of $100 to create their own short film for submission.  On Friday evening, teams will receive a theme, prop, and a line of dialogue which must be included in their film. On Sunday evening, all teams must turn in their finished work.  

All films will be featured on the Tallahassee Democrat website: www.tallahassee.com/48hourcontest.  The public will be able to view and vote for films to win the coveted Tallahassee.com Viewer’s Choice Award.   

A panel of judges will also select winners from the professional and amateur categories to present the Judge’s Choice Award.  The films with the highest total score in each category will be named Best of the 48 Hour Film Contest in that category and will be featured on the official festival programming schedule under a shorts category to be determined.   

Cash awards and trophies will be presented to the filmmakers at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 18 at Tallahassee Community College’s Turner Auditorium. Winning filmmakers will be notified via e-mail or telephone prior to the ceremony. 

The Tallahassee Film Festival celebrates Tallahassee’s talent and harnesses the creativity of university students, amateur filmmakers and industry professionals, showcasing excellence in production, cinematography, acting, directing and everything in between. The festival showcases Tallahassee as an emerging stakeholder in the film industry to filmmakers and industry professionals.

To download the 48 Hour Film Contest entry rules and learn more about the Tallahassee Film Festival, visit www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com. 

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Festival to be held April 15-19, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 31, 2008

Contact: Jennifer Tran

850-681-3200

media@tallahasseefilmfestival.com

Tallahassee, Fla. – The Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF) has announced the dates for the 2009 festival.   After a highly successful first year, festival organizers have broadened the festival from its original 3-day offering to a full 5-day festival that will be held April 15-19, 2009 with added After Parties and an extended timeframe for the 24-Hour Film Festival.

The additional dates and other new offerings are made possible in large part due to the generosity of the festival sponsors who have already lined up to support the 2009 festival.  Most importantly, the Florida Commerce Credit Union has announced it will once again be the presenting sponsor.  A commitment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and agreements from all of last year’s media sponsors also have shored up the festival.

“Florida Commerce Credit Union is proud to serve as the presenting sponsor for an event that builds the arts community in Tallahassee,” said Samantha Strickland, director of Marketing at Florida Commerce Credit Union. “We believe TFF has the potential to foster incredible growth in arts and entertainment and attract the best of the best filmmakers to this area.”

The inaugural year of the festival surpassed expectations. The Tallahassee Film Festival seeks to double its attendance in the coming year and screen even higher quality films from across the globe. In 2008, more than 2,600 people attended one or more film festival events and 65 films were shown.  In addition to expanded dates, TFF will host a series of “After Parties” at clubs and restaurants throughout the Tallahassee area.  Sunday night, April 19, the festival will conclude with a new “Best of Fest” screening that will give festival attendees a second chance to watch the award-winning films at local venues.

Filmmakers interested in entering the Tallahassee Film Festival should go to www.withoutabox.com to register. The Early Entry deadline is October 31 and already, more than 22 entries have been received from filmmakers as far away as Singapore, Bosnia, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Canada.  There are several other entry deadlines coming up with the final call for entries deadline on January 2, 2009.

Tallahassee Film Festival president, Robert Howard, believes TFF has a unique advantage over other film festivals in the country because of its connections with Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.

“These schools bring to the table resources that include quality venues to screen films and talented professors and students with film industry know-how,” said Howard. “We want our focus to remain on growing the educational components of the festival to include more workshops and lectures given by our own local film experts and others from around the country.”

Last year, the festival included a popular 24-Hour Film Contest held two weeks prior to the festival. More than 15 amateur and professional filmmakers created their own mini-movies within a one day timeframe, each on a limited budget of $100. Films were voted online by the public at Tallahsasee.com and by a professional panel of judges. In 2009, expect the new 48-Hour Film Contest to attract more teams throughout the area.

To learn more about the Tallahassee Film Festival, please visit www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com.

The Tallahassee Film Festival is an outgrowth of Tallahassee’s Knight Creative Communities Initiative, and a project of the THE INTERNATIONAL CREATIVITY CENTER, INC. a non-profit tax exempt organization.

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