ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, the Ames City Council and various other groups met Saturday morning for a vision-sharing dialogue to better understand each others’ goals and to build support groups.

“I have heard some people using the word ‘historic’ to describe this gathering,” said Donna Gilligan, mediator of the discussion and director of organizational effectiveness at Sauer-Danfoss.

The groups that attended represented Iowa State, the Ames City Council, the Ames School Board, the Ames Economic Development Commission and the Smart Growth Alliance.

Also present were groups representing the Gilbert School Board, the Boone and Story county boards of supervisors, the Mary Greeley Medical Center and the city of Nevada.

Each group was given 10 to 15 minutes to briefly overview its accomplishments and goals, with the idea being to see how each group could help the others in the room.

“What I am listening for is themes that are similarly present in other groups,” Gilligan said.

Geoffroy outlined the goal of Iowa State very simply.

“The goal in front of us is to increase the global impact of this university in everything we do,” he said.

He went on to state how the university affects the community around it.

“We have a greater than 1 billion dollar a year enterprise,” he said. “The economic impact on Ames is enormous.”

When it came time for Ames Mayor Ann Campbell to speak she listed several goals, but one figured prominently on the list.

“Rejuvenating Campustown is our primary goal,” she said. “It is in the best interest for Ames.”

A prime case of how the dialogue was supposed to function came when LaVon Schiltz, executive director of the Nevada Economic Development Council, started to speak.

“What happens in Nevada does not just affect Nevada, and what happens in Ames does not just affect Ames,” she said. “We are not and should not be competitors.”

The mayor of Nevada, Jerry Gull, also commented.

“This has been a wonderful time, and it’s important for us to exchange information,” he said.

After each group had presented, there was a short time for questions about the presentations and for comments to be given from one group to another.

Dan Culhane, executive director of the Ames Economic Development Commission, said “it’s hard to find an area where ISU hasn’t positively affected the community.”

After a brief break, the group finished the dialogue by deciding if any further steps were to be taken.

Ames City Councilman Matthew Goodman suggested it would be best if the group would reconvene annually to discuss news and to add more people to the discussions. The idea was met with approval.

“This whole thing was beneficial,” said Ames City Councilman Riad Mahayni. “I think that this needs to be institutionalized to really know what all the others are thinking.”