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Civic Engagement Leadership Application is open!
January 20, 2023
Gaston Together is accepting applications to participate in our Civic Engagement Leadership program (CEL). CEL’s goal is to establish a pool of potential future leaders for Gaston County. CEL participants develop a deeper understanding of community issues, engage with different aspects of Gaston County, and broaden their own self-awareness.
Gaston Together designed the CEL process to round out leadership training opportunities in the county. The process involves 8 class sessions. These sessions are an “experiential learning laboratory” where the participants learn and practice new practice skills. Classes are limited to 20-25 participants to allow for active engagement.
During the process, CEL participants work on their communication and leadership skills. They learn about civic dialogue, community building, and working across differences in demographics and community sectors. Participants take a self-assessment at the beginning and end of the process to measure their growth.
Finally, each CEL class has the opportunity to connect with community leaders. Early in the process, the CEL class will identify focus areas that interest them. Community leaders involved in these focus areas join the class on the Community Leader “Speed Networking Day.” Community leaders and CEL participants meet to network and discuss the leaders’ work in the focus areas.
Applications for CEL 5 are due by January 20, 2023. The process involves an orientation, 6 full-day sessions, and 2 half-day sessions. Orientation is in February and the 8 sessions run from March – November 2023. Click here for the CEL application.
2023 Gaston Together MLK Unity Award Request for Nominations
November 4, 2022
The Gaston Clergy & Citizens Coalition (GC3), an initiative of Gaston Together, is now accepting applications for the MLK Unity Award. This award was established in 2004, and it recognizes current or former Gaston County citizens who have performed exemplary community service to help build bridges of unity across lines of race, class, gender, faith and/or among municipalities within our county. Names of the honorees are engraved on the MLK Monument located at the MLK Plaza. The Plaza is at the corner of Long Avenue and MLK Way in downtown Gastonia. Past winners include notable community members such as Senator Marshall Rauch, N. A. Smith, Mildred Sadler, the 1964 Gastonia Human Relations Committee, Rev. Houston Matthews, Danny Jackson, Sam Shoukry and Richard and Lucy Penegar to name a few.
Completed forms must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 4. The selection committee composed of former MLK Unity Award Honorees will determine the 2023 recipients. The award recipients will be notified mid to late December.
The GC3 is a county-wide, non-denominational ministerial association formed in the late 1990s by Gaston Together.