A Fusion Of Young Ideas

Yesterday was the first article of a new weekly column which will be written by Claire Ryan from FUSION Saint John.  Read it below:

From city planners to politicians to big industry to local businesses – everyone wants to know how to engage young Saint John.

About five years ago four Saint Johners came up with an idea. What if a network of young people were to come together to share ideas and action plans for becoming more involved in shaping the future of their city? From this, FUSION Saint John was born. FUSION is a network for people with new ideas and a motivation to work with fellow community leaders and members to make Saint John great. What better way to attract and retain young people to our region than to include them in the very plans aimed to keep them here? Municipally, provincially, federally and from a business and community perspective, the leaders of tomorrow needed a voice. And they got it.

Stephanie Bell, Shane Goguen, Mara Mallory and Shannon Merrifield were the founders. They knew they had a good idea, but they also knew they needed to engage the right people to make the FUSION concept a success. First they approached the Saint John Board of Trade – Bob McVicar, Darryl Goyetche, Imelda Gilman and Tim Curry – who quickly signed on to mentor and help this group establish its vision. With the support of the business community, they hosted a launch event.

No one was expecting what happened next. Although they had a feeling they were onto something special, FUSION’s founding members soon realized they had created a demand beyond their expectation. Suddenly they had a membership of 400, and many organizations were reaching out to engage the new group members on community boards, municipal committees, and speaking engagements. Media wanted these new leaders’ opinion on just about everything, from the new cruise terminal to skateboard parks, and municipal politics – they wanted a young perspective.

The idea took root in Saint John, but grew beyond our provincial boundaries to include a FUSION Bangor, FUSION Detroit and FUSION Halifax.

The network continues to thrive and evolve in our region, and the membership continues to grow in both quantity and quality. Now not only does the media want to ask the younger demographics’ opinion on the happenings in Saint John, they want us to write about it from our perspective.

On Friday at O’Leary’s Pub, FUSION Saint John, in partnership with the Telegraph-Journal, will celebrate the official launch of this column. The purpose of this column is to highlight the people , events and organizations who have a hand in creating a new face of Saint John. What you can expect? Positive and fresh ideas that are transforming our city, our community and our province.

After all, it all starts with an idea…

Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. Email her at cryan@mtlpr.ca