Blackburn Institute

Past Events

Burt Jones Urban Travel Experience: Dothan

January 2008

On January 11-12th, the Blackburn Institute invaded Dothan by bringing thirty-nine student fellows, alumni fellows, and advisory board members to town for the Burt Jones Urban Travel Experience. The speakers were quick to question calling Dothan the urban travel experience because the community still considers the city of Dothan to be small, although the pre-event readings name the city as the seventh largest city in the state.

The first panel, “Dothan’s history and life in the Wiregrass” was held at Landmark Park. Executive Director of the park, William Holman presented on the pivotal role Dothan has played in the history of south Alabama and the entire Wiregrass region which includes southwest Georgia and northern Florida as well as several Alabama counties. The history lesson was interesting because it told the story of the natural ecosystem when grass fires were started by lightening and cleaned the underbrush so that the tall pine trees would grow. The director advocated controlled fires to control the underbrush.

After learning a little about the history of the area, we settled in to learn the future during the panel titled “Dothan’s future – Strategic planning to become the ‘Heart of heart of the Wiregrass’”. The current Mayor Patrick Thomas, a former Mayor Kenneth Everett, and the Executive Director of the Area Chamber of Commerce Dr. Thomas Harrison introduced the group to the philosophical debate concerning the paid city manger versus the mayor running the city. Mr. Everett was vocally pushing for the city manager position to be removed from the city government while Mayor Thomas argued that he was part time and needed the city manager. As the panel continued to speak, this topic became the purpose for the panel.

Mr. Everett was Mayor Thomas’ little league baseball coach. In the same way southern women say “bless her heart” while spreading gossip, both mayors previewed their statements to each other with “he knows I love him but…” causing tension to spread through the room. At one point, the discussion was so heated the gentleman in the middle referred to himself as a referee. It was assumed this was not the first panel the three men had served on together.

The next panel titled “Multiple perspectives on educational reform in Dothan” provided some insight to the problems in Dothan both in education and in other areas. The consensus of the group seemed to be that Dothan had to fix the schools in order to move forward. The public schools were a huge stumbling block for the city to be able to attract families to the area. While the public schools are suffering the private schools are thriving with more and more private schools in the regions being started. We also heard that the educators as well as local businesspeople have made Dothan’s youth the object of much philanthropic effort.

The evening concluded with the “Living and working in Dothan as a young professional. The professionals serving on the panel had differing opinions but for the most part were fairly similar situations. Four of the five panelist had family in Dothan or grew up in Dothan and that was why they returned to the area after college and their first couple of jobs. Two of the panelist noted that you cannot get a better customer base than from the town where everyone knows you or knows someone that knows you. They stressed that coming home was not in their original plan but were very happy they did due the success of their businesses. The only single female of the group was not from Dothan but moved there for the job of city planner. She felt the town was welcoming to her as an outsider and doesn’t feel like anyone would have trouble finding a place in Dothan. It made me want to move to Dothan!

The last event, a traditional Late Night discussion at our hotel, centered on the implications that Dothan’s government and education problems have for other cities in Alabama. The comparison between the Tuscaloosa City Schools and the Dothan City Schools was not hard to make. One thing that the Blackburn Institute tries to show fellows is how finding a solution to a problem in one city can change the state by sharing the solution with other cities. If someone can solve the problems the Tuscaloosa City Schools are faced with, they will be needed in Dothan soon after fixing Tuscaloosa.

The next day began early with a bus tour of the city. Our guide was very candid about the area and did not gloss over Dothan’s crime and poverty rate. The tour put a face on the income and educational disparities that were addressed during the panel discussion the previous day. The two city zoned high schools we saw were remarkably different in their condition. I began to understand the bigger picture beyond the schools’ facade. The tour ended with a string of recently built malls that were brining in outside residents to shop and pay sales tax. If the current trend of economic development in the area continues, the city should be able to restore the stores.

Lunch at the Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center showed us a positive aspect of Dothan. The fact that the blind, deaf or otherwise handicapped residents can make and serve delicious meals like the one we enjoyed, as well as perform other jobs they learn at the Center was amazing to us. The enthusiasm and drive of the director was inspiring showing us that we can make a difference in many other areas surpassing Washington and Montgomery. It was truly inspiring.

The last panelist were a construction company owner, a military wife, an administrative assistant, and two students who proved as capable of describing the pros and cons of Dothan life as more educated panelists. In fact, we were still discussing the students’ comments as we boarded the bus returning to Tuscaloosa. Overall, the panel offered us an opportunity to hear from ‘real’ citizens about the real issues they are facing. It became apparent that city officials were not in touch with the concerns of the citizens and need to communicate better.

I think that the entire trip will serve as a reference point for student and alumni fellows whenever the subject of urban growth and development surfaces again. As future community leaders, we will all see the issue of urban growth and development surface again. For my part, I feel that the Dothan trip was one of the most informative I have ever experienced.

– Amanda Minor, 2006-07 Fellow