By Julie Thibodeaux. Photos by Karl Thibodeaux

An enthusiastic group of greenies turned out for the Green Source DFW brainstorming session on Thursday night. The open meeting, held at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, was assembled to get input from readers about the direction of the publication.

“It was a really good group and a broad cross section of the green community,” said GSDFW editor Phillip Shinoda. 

The evening was emceed by professional moderator Harriet Whiting who led the group of nearly 20 volunteers through the process of defining goals for the coming year. 

(Left, Moderator Harriet Whiting and Editor Phillip Shinoda)

Attendees included GSDFW board members along with commercial recycling professionals, green interior designers, a magazine publisher and representatives from local conservation groups and a university. 

After two hours of structured brainstorming, a consensus was reached that GSDFW needed to expand its audience to include a more diverse readership as well as foster

partnerships in the community. It was also proposed that a local recycling guide be added to the website to enhance its value. 

In addition, everyone agreed the entity needed to create a sustainable business plan, although people differed on how to do that. Solutions included charging an access fee to creating levels of voluntary membership.

(Above, from left, green interior designer Judy Schaffer, Grace Darling of the Arlington Conservation Council and Natural Awakenings publisher Bernice Butler confer. In background, Karl Thibodeaux of First Jefferson Unitarian Church, GSDFW assistant editor Julie Thibodeaux, Dallas Sierra Club president and GSDFW board member Wendel Withrow, Cynthia Shinoda and Harriet Whiting. Photo Phillip Shinoda.)  

Shinoda said it will take some time to determine the outcome but he was encouraged by the quality of participants and their level of involvement. 

“We were very satisfied with the turnout. Everybody was active and participated. We’re going to look at the results and prioritize what we can do,” said Shinoda.


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Julie Thibodeaux covers environmental issues, green topics and sustainable living for Green Source DFW. Previously, she worked as an editor and writer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Contact her at Julie@greensourcedfw.org. See jthibodeaux.com.