Chat ‘n Chews provide brainstorming sessions for city revitalization group

   Create Huntington, a grassroots organization focusing on the revitalization of the city, relies on the public, not city officials, for ideas on how to make Huntington a better place.

The group hosts weekly Chat ‘n Chews, a time for members to gather and discuss potential projects and ideas.

"The idea is that anybody can come and bring an idea they're passionate about and try to get other people to join in with their passion," said Carter Seaton, Create Huntington volunteer.

Seaton is involved with Create Huntington's art projects, including Gallery 842 and the ArtGawk.

Many of the projects Create Huntington has implemented got their start at Chat ‘n Chew sessions. Projects such as the dog park, Trees for Tomorrow and the Adopt-a-Block program were brainstormed in Chat ‘n Chew meetings.

Simone Kompanek, Create Huntington volunteer, said it is refreshing to meet other people who share her ideas.

"For a while there I thought I was the only person who wanted a dog park," Kompanek said. "I came to the meeting and almost everyone thinks it's a great idea. It's just surprising how much you have in common with people you don't even know."

Richard Cobb, another Create Huntington volunteer, said networking with like-minded people leads to projects and groups that can make Huntington better.

"It's a matter of connecting people who can make it happen," he said.

Cobb said he is passionate about living in a litter-free community. He started attending Chat ‘n Chews last year and brought litter sticks to give away. That is where the idea for the Adopt-a-Block Program got started. 

Cobb said clean communities are important for future generations.

"We have a responsibility to the people of the future, even though we won't be here," he said.

The Adopt-a-Block Program began in 2006 with only two members. Since then, the group has grown to almost 2,000 members.

Stacey McChesney, member of Create Huntington's Board of Connectors, said more than 40 projects have come from Chat ‘n Chew meetings over the past year, including neighborhood associations and cultural and recreational opportunities.

Current projects address a variety of issues, but other ideas haven't been thought of yet, Cobb said.

Although most Create Huntington members meet at the weekly sessions, some groups meet separately outside of the Chat ‘n Chews.  Many ideas also come from Create Huntington's network meetings, subcommittees in which members focus on specific issues.

All ideas that come from Create Huntington directly benefit the community, Seaton said.

"I think it's more how the town benefits than how any one person benefits," she said.

Chat ‘n Chews are at 5:30 p.m. every Thursday in the lobby of The Frederick building on Fourth Avenue in downtown Huntington.


   Whitney Burdette can be contacted at burdette56@marshall.edu.