CONTENTS
MORNING 46
AFTERNOON 48
8:00 a.m. FINAL CHECK
The entire staff meets to check over last minute
details and assignments and then noves to stations. The registration
area is manned with the registrar and greeters to welcome citizens
to Town Meeting 76. (Note: the registration desk should be manned
constantly throughout the day.) The materials to be passed out
are placed at the registrar's desk (Participant Workbooks, Songbooks,
and name tags.)
By 8:45 all coffee and refreshments are in place
and background music is playing ( American Symphonic Music)
9:00 The doors are opened and the staff mingle with citizens as they arrive, welcoming them and learning their names. The host sees that the reception area remains neat and that coffee and donuts are replenished when necessary.
9:30 The background music is turned off and the Emcee
invites the group to gather around the tables to begin. He introduces
himself and welcomes everyone to the Town Meeting.
I AM FROM ,
AND I WILL BE THE EMCEE FOR THE DAY. WELCOME TO THE
TOWN MEETING. THIS WILL BE A GREAT, GREAT DAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY
AS WE PARTICIPATE HERE IN FORGING OUR NATION'S FUTURE. LET'S START
THIS DAY WITH SINGING. TAKE OUT THE TOWN MEETING 76 SONCBOOK AND
TURN TO SONG # . LET'S SING "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND."
Everyone sings the song.
THAT WAS GREAT, LET'S SING ANOTHER _______#
"ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE."
FANTASTIC!
9:40 Now the Emcee orients the citizens to the day.
YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED TOWN MEETING WORKBOOKS. ON
PAGE YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE TWO WORKSHOPS,
AN INTERLUDE AND A FINAL PLENARY. WE ARE ANTICIPATING
A GREAT DAY WORKING TOGETHER.
Introduce any special guests by name and title. (Note:
Get this list ahead of time and be sure it does not unintentionally
leave any one out.) This would also be the appropriate time for
any very special guests to say a few words.
I'D LIKE TO EXTEND A SPECIAL WELCOME TO SOME OF OUR HONORED GUESTS WHO ARE HERE TODAY TO WORK WITH US. AND TO EXTEND A WELCOME ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY,
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE _________________.
THIS TOWN MEETING IS BEING SPONSORED BY ________________________.
HERE'S __________ TO WELCOME YOU ON THEIR BEHALF.
AND NOW OF THE INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IS GOING TO START
OUR PROGRAM.
10:00 The Talk The New World of the Bicentennial
Era.
10:30 The Emcee comes on stage at the close of the talk and
leads a song.
LET'S SING "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND" AGAIN.
The Emcee contexts the morning workshop.
WE ARE GOING TO DIVIDE UP INTO FOUR GUILDS TO
THE WORKSHOPS TODAY. IN THE MORNING WORKSHOP
WE WILL DISCERN THE MAJOR CHALLENGES FACING, OUR
NATION. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE NAME TAG, YOU
WERE GIVEN AS YOU ENTERED THE MEETING CONTAINS
A NUMBER FROM 1 TO 4, INDICATING YOUR GUILD
ASSIGNMENT. CHECK WHICH NUMBER YOU ARE. THEN
I WANT TO INTRODUCE THE WORKSHOP LEADERS AND
INDICATE WHERE EACH GUILD WILL MEET.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE SEE ME AFTER WE
BREAK. LUNCH WILL BE IN THIS ROOM AT 12:30 SHARP.
LET'S GO TO WORK.
AFTERNOON
12:30 p.m. Have the band or taped music begin. People
should begin to move into the main room. The food will already
be set out. The food must be ready for participants at 12:30 promptly.
Individual serving, unless there are a large number of persons
serving and a well coordinated kitchen staff, tends to be unwieldy
with 200 people. Getting lunch should be neither hurried nor tedious.
As soon as people are beginning to be seated, start
the entertainment be recalling the morning's session.
Introduce the first act. This could well be a musical
act.
12:45 Introduce the second act. This might be a comedy skit.
1:00 Begin the community singing.
Sing: 1 Yankee Doodle Dandy.
2. One song chosen by the participants.
3. Have each guild sing a verse of Yankee Doodle
with everyone joining in the chorus.
1:15 Introduce any new arrivals and special guests, ending with
a welcome to all who have joined the morning talk.
1:30 Sing another song.
1:35 Introduce the speaker for the afternoon session.
1:55 Provide directions for the transition to the second workshop:
THIS MORNING IN OUR WORKSHOPS WE ANALYZED THE CHALLENGES WHICH ARE FACING US AS A PEOPLE. EACH GROUP NAMED CHALLENGES IN THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL ARENAS OF SOCIETY. THIS AFTERNOON GUILD I WILL WRITE PROPOSALS TO DEAL WITH THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES WRITTEN BY ALL FOUR GROUPS THIS MORNING. GUILDS II AND III WILL DO THE SAME THING WITH THE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CHALLENGES. GUILD IV WILL CREATE A STORY, A SONG, A SYMBOL AND A SLOGAN FOR OUR TIMES.
WE WILL GATHER AS A whole TOWN MEETING AT 4:00 TO HEAR RFPORTS OF THE AFTERNOON'S WORK. LET'S SING ONE MORE SONG, BEFORE WE GO. (one of the songs written in previous Town Meetings). SEE YOU AT 4:00.
4:00 Have the total Town Meeting gather. Sing "The
Impossible Dream, # _ and one they would like
to sing.
4:15 Call for the reading of the reports of Guilds I,
II, and III. Ask the Guilds to read both the
challenges in their arena (Economic, Political
or Cultural) and the proposals that they created
to deal with those challenges. Have them read
one after another, asking for questions of clarity
only after each guild finishes it's report.
4:25 Reflect on the reports:
WEREN'T THOSE CHALLENGES SOMETHING!
4 35 Reflect on the day by hearing a couple of responses
to each of these questions;
1. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE DAY?
2. WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE DAY?
3. IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TOMORROW WHAT YOU DID TODAY,
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY.
4. HOW WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US
TODAY AS A GROUP?
4:40 Call for the report from Guild IV.
WASN'T THAT GREAT!
Set the context for toasting the future:
4:45 WE ARE AT THE END OF A GREAT DAY. LET'S TARE A FEW
t0NUTES AND LET OUR VISION MOVE TO THE FUTURE AND
OFFER TOASTS TO THIS COMMUNI TY, THE NATION, AND THE
WORLD. GO AHEAD AND CALL OUT YOUR TOAST AND WREN
YOU'RE FINISHED WE'LL ALL RESPOND "HEAR! HEAR!"
4:53 Hand out documents or announce where they will
be available on the way out.
4:55 LET'S SING OUR SONG ONCE AGAIN.
4:58 Send the Town Meeting out. This should be a dismissal of the body,
summarizing the toasts and pointing to the future. It should conclude
with "Hear! Hear!"
5:00 THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING AND MAKING THIS THE
GREAT DAY THAT IT WAS.
Start the music. Have staff available to mingle with people, answer
questions and thank special guests.
5:10 Start the cleaning up procedures.