This is an earnest, eleventh-hour reminder that the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning Workshop takes place tonight (Thursday, October 10) at the Corbin Senior Center starting at 6:30pm.

If you already intend to go, great! We can’t wait to see you there.

If you’re not doing everything you can to attend, you should be. And here’s why:

• It’s a considerate, neighborly gesture. For months the all-volunteer Neighborhood Planning group has been devoting countless hours to unifying the planning effort and developing this workshop — all with the ultimate goal of making Emerson-Garfield a better place to live, work and play for everyone. Ultimately, however, the success of their efforts relies solely on your participation.

• There’s strength — and fairness — in numbers. The more people who attend the workshop, the more feedback we have. The more feedback we have, the more broadly representative of the neighborhood the identified issues will be. The more representative those issues are, the better Emerson-Garfield can become for all its residents and businesses in the future.

• This is a chance to turn words into action. Complaining about crime on the Spokane News Facebook page or grumbling about the state of North Monroe on NextDoor does absolutely nothing to improve either situation. Complaining about crime or the state of North Monroe at this event actually stands a chance of seeing something done about them.

• It’s about the future. The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council operates by looking about a year ahead — or sometimes just a few months. Planning takes a long-term view and creates a template that is good for the next ten, fifteen or even twenty years. Some of us might not be around to see the results of these efforts, but our children and future generations in Emerson-Garfield will be grateful for workshops like this.

• Above all: There’s real efficacy to this event. It’s not a bunch of head-nodding and empty, feel-good chatter. These volunteers — who have already demonstrated a proven commitment to the neighborhood because they live and work here too — will take your feedback to heart, and that will directly impact how the Neighborhood Planning group and the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council prioritize certain areas and certain issues.

With that in mind, we hope we can count on seeing you this evening. It’ll be a fun, positive, relaxed event with light refreshments provided by neighborhood businesses — thanks, Yoke’s, Gluten Busters and Chairs!