Only one week from when the Ames City Council Chambers had played host to a caucus event in City Hall, the room resounded with a very different, yet nonetheless strong, energy.

Thursday night, the Ames League of Women Voters gathered together for a new event called “Ames Happening: A Community Update.”

Sharon Worth, president of the Ames League of Women Voters, introduced the event and woman leaders within the city, who all delivered 15-minute speeches on the events of the past year and the plans for the future.

Mayor Ann Campbell was present at the event to give her state of the city address. She began by encouraging Ames citizens to harness the energy felt from the caucuses and continue to impact the city in with respect and consensus.

On the consensus token, Mayor Campbell spoke of her general lack of enthusiasm for the mall debate.

“We need to put the pretentious mall subject behind us,” Campbell said. “The mall seems to be the conflict that identifies us. We need to end that.”

With hope of funneling such energy elsewhere, Mayor Campbell said Ames must be on the forefront for environmental sustainability. The government can only do so much however, she said. Citizens must utilize CyRide and change the light bulbs used in homes, she said.

“It is our responsibility to reduce the stamp of our carbon footprint,” she said.

Mayor Campbell then spoke of the task force for a more inclusive community, which met at the same time as the Women Voters meeting. Campbell said she was pleased with the support for the force to create an increasingly integrated city.

“We will need everybody’s assistance to make this a reality,” she said.

She concluded her talk with a summary of several accomplishments of the past year, ranging from a donation that helped create a new aquatic center to a continued strong allegiance with Story County schools.

“I cannot think of a better place I would rather live or be mayor than Ames, Iowa,” Campbell said.

Mary Greeley Medical Center Chairwoman Sarah Buck was the first of the three women to talk. She spoke about the huge role the hospital played in the community as it supported not only the patients who received medical assistance from the center, but also the hundreds of citizens it employs. Buck said gifts and grants in the past played a huge role in the success of the hospital, but continued support would be needed for the following year.

“Private support will be critical for the future,” she said.

Buck also spoke of the financial assistance program that saved almost 2,000 people in the past year at the expense of $2.5 million. The system assisted everyone from those who had no insurance to those who were working and uninsured or underinsured, Buck said.

“Our board is committed to making [the hospital] accessible,” she said. “We don’t want people to not access our resources.”

Buck concluded her discussion by addressing the issue of the resignation of Kimberly Russel, president and chief executive officer of the medical center. Her successor is yet to be determined, but Lynn Whisler will be appointed as interim for the position on Jan. 29.

Gail Johnson, president of the Ames School Board, gave a speech, beginning by acknowledging the continued growth of the area students and the remaining room left to achieve, which is a continuous target for the future.

Johnson also addressed this year’s realignment of the school boundaries for the public schools in Ames.

With the support of grants and donations, Johnson announced that the board was able to send 17 teachers to a national training event for a responsive classroom program over the summer.

“The goal [of the program] is to create a classroom environment that is welcoming to all,” said Johnson when she was asked in later questioning.

Due to the success of the program, 90 more teachers took a less extensive workshop, and another is scheduled for the coming summer.

Johnson was optimistic about the future for the school district and spoke of several current evaluations taking place of programs to determine their current and future need.

“This is an important endeavor,” Johnson said. “Our schools need to prepare for their future, not our past.”