Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Mindy Tate, CEO of Franklin Tomorrow, who highlights the independent, community-visioning nonprofit created in 2000 by a group of forward-looking business and community leaders to safeguard the attributes that made Franklin, Tennessee special then for future generations. The organization’s mission is to engage the community, foster collaboration, and advocate for a shared vision for the future of Franklin. During the interview, Mindy talks about their ongoing programs and impact, some of the pivots made during the pandemic and the importance of opening access for more citizens to get involved, lessons learned and how the community can support their efforts.
Franklin Tomorrow founded more than 20 years ago by business and community leaders. Today its mission is to engage the community, foster collaboration, and advocate for a shared vision for the future of Franklin. Through our programs and research, we believe the citizens have told us they want Franklin to be a city with a robust economy, vibrant neighborhoods, distinct character, and great people.
We have had several significant achievements through the organization and in partnership with other organizations, including the City of Franklin. In 2020, the City of Franklin was named an All-America City by the National Civic League in a joint partnership with Franklin. Only 10 cities achieve this honor annually and this award was given for civic engagement work by the City and Franklin Tomorrow.
Franklin Tomorrow engages those who live, work, and play in our community through a series of ongoing programs such as the monthly FrankTalks lecture series and the quarterly Breakfast With the Mayors. FrankTalks is held the second Monday of the month at various locations across the City and BWM is held at Rolling Hills Community Church with Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson and Franklin Mayor Ken Moore acting as hosts.
The next FrankTalks will be July 11, while the next Breakfast With the Mayors is July 26. At Breakfast With the Mayors we will hear from Williamson County Schools Director Jason Golden and Franklin Special School District Director of Schools David Snowden on the coming school year and the challenges which lie ahead.
While our 20th anniversary was in 2020, the pandemic stopped us from celebrating that, but on July 30, we will host our “22 in ’22” anniversary celebration at The Factory at Franklin.
Mayor Ken Moore’s mental health initiative, Find Hope Franklin. We coordinate classes in suicide prevention training known as QPR, which stands for Question Persuade Refer. It offers insight into how to interact with someone who may be facing a mental health crisis and persuade them to seek treatment.
Learn more:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FranklinTomorrowInc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/franklin2morrow
Website: https://franklintomorrow.org/
Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/franklin-tomorrow-inc./about/
