March 6, 2008: The Healthy & Safe Community theme was the first of the five focus areas to meet, with community organizations in the health and wellness field gathering to learn about the objectives in this area.

Under the leadership of Co-Chairs Sid Collins, CEO of the Pickens County YMCA, and Steve Westmoreland, who has been involved in organized recreation and the Big League of Baseball, participants learned about the process envisioned in the Plan of county organizations partnering with each other in alliances to take on individual objectives and accomplish them over the coming years. Participants were told about the Vision Partner concept, and provided a form to fill out to indicate their interest in participating as a Vision Partner.

The Implementation Team split the Healthy Safe Community area into three areas due to the large number of expected participants and their different focus. Public safety and emergency services objectives will be the subject of a meeting of organizations in these areas on March 20th. Invitations are going out to municipal and other providers to gather and review the objectives dealing with public safety and emergency services, and consider working together toward accomplishing them.

The last sub-group under this theme, childcare and programs dealing with children, will meet in the coming months.

According to Co-Chair, Sid Collins, "it may take a little time for those currently providing services, and having a vested interest in this theme, to start talking with each other and see how they can collaborate. The fact all the participants at this first gathering agreed to come back and continue discussing their potential collaborating is very positive."