Creativity

         One of my favorite shows of all time was "Whose Line is it Anyway?"  For those poor souls who have no idea what I'm talking about, "Whose Line" was a half hour of improv comedy that began in Britain before migrating to America.  It featured four talented actors, one host, a studio audience and no script.  The goal of the actors was to use their creativity and wits to make the audience laugh without any preparation.  One of my favorite games on the show was called "Props."  The teams created as many funny scenes as they could based around a traffic cone or a horned hat or some other random piece of debris.  I was always fascinated by how the actors saw potential in items that looked like garbage.

     One of the key components of skateboarding is creativity.  I look at our skatepark and see ramps and rails, lumber and plywood.  Our skaters enter the facility and see jumps and flips and combos...new tricks to master and original ways to skate our elements.  You can always tell when something new has happened in the skate park.  The others skaters and observers let out a roar and bang on the ramps in approval; a buzz fills Joel's Place as everyone tries to figure out what just happened and how to do it themselves.

     There is something in us that responds to the new, the creative, the original.  Something that gets excited at the sight of crossing barriers and doing things that were previously never considered...or even considered impossible.  Our skateboarders and bikers are not just kids who are bored and need to run off some energy.  They are kinetic innovators who use their bodies and rides to be creative and express their originality...while flying through the air and skidding across the ground.

     When I stand on a skateboard in the middle of the park, I do not have their creativity.  I mostly just think about not falling too violently.  However, when I stand in the middle of the skate park without the board...my mind races.  I find myself dreaming about what we could do with our building.  Who we could host.  What we could do.  How we could utilize our space more consistently in order to fund our programs for these kids.  Already we have a couple of girl scout troops who meet here throughout the week as well as a band practice, numerous shows and an NA group.  I am in discussions to soon begin local school field trips, credited college skating courses and UAF rec nights.  We will have regular group overnighters, church youth groups and worship times.  We will be able to host birthday parties, skate lessons and meetings.  Our outdoor area will be fenced in when the snow melts and enable us to host a variety of outdoor activities from concerts to basketball/volleyball tournaments to bonfires and camps...perhaps even a VBS or two.  I don't want anything to get in the way of our primary focus: at-risk youth.  But if it is a viable option to utilize the resources that we already have and bring in more revenue for programs and facilities that will help those youth, I think we should explore every option.  Consider it...Programatic Creativity.  I don't know if that is listed in any management books, but it should be.

     If you have any ideas about using Joel's Place, feel free to let me know and we will see what ideas arise.

James