Why I'm going to Ann Arbor

As many of you know, I have had harsh words for the inter-city visits organized by the Community Leadership Council (an arm of the Chamber of Commerce).  I still believe what I said on July 11th:

Many, many important criticisms and worthy defenses were posted on Jason's blog entry last month, so I won't re-hash them. Some of the organizers strongly encouraged me to go, and I thought long and hard and about whether I would even want to participate in this event if it was logistically possible. Would I feel ethical being a part of something that I have criticized and will continue to scrutinize?  I think it's possible to engage and critique at the same time, but it's a thin tight rope to walk.

I also felt that, given that I can't stop this trip and redirect the extravagant budget - at least not this year, the community would benefit from some reporting on the event that lets them know where all that time and money is going.  I have no doubt that there will be some valuable experiences to be had on the trip, but you can expect me to be just as vocally critical as I am of everything else (it's the only way I know how to be). I hope that my presence will help some of the more hesitant community leaders see that blogging can even be good for the community and their own institutions.

Here's what I wrote on my scholarship application about why my participation would be valuable:

My primary goal would be to observe and blog about the goings on, including observations of Ann Arbor, and existing and emerging connections between the participants. I think the readers of OrangePolitics will be very interested to share in the trip's learnings and it will also be a platform for sharing information with the wider community since the media will not be providing extensive coverage of the trip and it's findings. I hope the participants will also utilize OrangePolitics (or any other blogging platform) to publicly share their own reflections and engage in a dialog so that more of the community can benefit from the trip.

I fully expect some of you to think I've sold out by agreeing to go on this trip. You might be right, but I hope you'll watch my blogging about it and then let me know whether or not it was worthwhile.  For those of you that will be glad to have my loud mouth and quick keyboard on the trip, I need your help.  The Chamber of Commerce has approved my scholarship application, but they only cover %65 of the cost, leaving me owing $430 for the trip.

I already have to take two days of vacation (which I'm lucky to have) and since my spouse is starting a business right now, it's not a very comfortable time for us financially. I'm hoping that some of you readers will see the benefit of OP covering the trip and be willing to help pitch in to cover the cost. If you don't think I should go, then please don't feel obliged to support my travel costs. This is an opportunity to vote with your dollars. I don't expect to raise the entire $430, but every bit helps.

P.S. I haven't seen or spoken to Tom Jensen in about a year, but if he still lives in Chapel Hill, I hope he will participate on this trip since he is from Ann Arbor and will probably be able to add unique insights from a perspective of knowing both communities.