Grinnell 2000/Imagine Grinnell, Records of

Series

Grinnell 2000/Imagine Grinnell, Records of

• from 1985 (Creation)

Arrangement: Primarily chronological; Series #5 contains agendas, minutes, financial and membership material, except where noted, and correspondence by month.

Background Note:
In 1984, Sharp Lannom, president of DeLong Sportswear, noting a lack of long-range planning and commitment in Grinnell, invited a group of 50 business, professional, and political leaders in the city to meet to identify problems and formulate solutions to them. He envisioned the establishment of a foundation to develop a blueprint for the city’s future, which would involve every component of the population. With the assistance of Chris Nolte, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, George Drake, Grinnell College President, Roger Zimmerman, and Benjamin Webb, who became the first executive director of Grinnell 2000, the Lessing-Flynn Company was approached to present a proposal for the organization of the foundation. Following a survey of the citizenry to determine essential goals, a town meeting was held on November 21, 1985 to introduce the Grinnell 2000 Foundation to the public and to enlist their support.

In the ensuing 15 years and under a sequence of directors, an ambitious array of projects was proposed and generally completed, a list of which is provided in Series #6 below. In May 2001, the decision was taken to change the name of the foundation to Imagine Grinnell, and this change was effective with the annual meeting of June 11, 2001

Donated by: Imagine Grinnell, Melissa Strovers, Executive Director; Monte Redenius;

Name of Preparer: D. Lalonde; C. Neubert
Date of Preparation: 1/26/2010; 5/24/11; 11/8/11: 10/20/2015