LIFT in Action

LIFT’s original motivation is captured in a “State of the Community” letter sent in March 2010 to the 500-plus local Leadership Texarkana graduates, most serving in leadership positions throughout the community;  this summary became the focus for LT’s first Annual Lunch with Leaders in April of that year–Moving from Talk to Action–and is the basis for LIFT’s actions since. Read more about the foundations of LIFT in ACTION.

Since its inception, LIFT’s strategies, goals and actions have centered around two key beliefs: 

• That we ARE a community of excellence and achieve it when we are working from common purpose throughout all sectors - for the benefit of all, But too often we work in isolation, settling for Half as Nice.  
• That Texarkana is the collective business of all of our citizens and that our best results will come when we apply the same leadership wisdom to our community as that used by any successful business or organization to create excellence.

Successful businesses ensure: 

• a UNIFYING VOICE OF VISION and VALUES -  with clarity on who they are and what they value
• a COMMON AGENDA around which to ALIGN actions
• TEAMS which cross sectors and functions, that work in concert, aligned around the key results desired
• A CULTURE which insists that EACH person in the business is responsible for the outcomes
• CELEBRATION and PRIDE from awareness of what HAS been accomplished 
• CLARITY on GOALS for the near future, to ensure forward movement and 
• An EXPECTATION of continuous PROGRESS

Reflecting that wisdom...
Leadership Texarkana's strategy through LIfT has been to work with intention to equip our citizens with the same ingredients proven to be catalytic and foundational in any business to producing the best outcomes, and by so doing, to engage stakeholders throughout our community as leaders who are willing and able to effectively Work Together for Excellence, Pride and Progress:

• Fostering a leadership culture of teams WORKING TOGETHER for community excellence, aligning around key results the citizens desire, through
• Joint City Leaders' Summit  |  Jan-Feb 2013
• Beautification Summit | May 20
• Joint City Board/Council Luncheons with the Leadership Texarkana Class & LIFT Team | December 2013, 2014 & 2015
  
• Joint City Board/Council Meeting | Feb. 2015 
  
• Joint Summit on Regional Economic Development | October 2015
  
•  Developing unifying community frameworks of vision and values and a common agenda such as is foundational to producing EXCELLENCE, PRIDE and PROGRESS, through
  
• LIFT's Focus for the Future | April 2014
• LIFT Challenge | April 2015
• Fostering celebration and pride in our community from citizen awareness of the many accomplishments and progress being made around the key results citizens have said they desire, through
• LIFT's 1st Annual Report to the Community | April 2015
  
• The WeeklyLIFT reports blasted to hundreds and made available throughout the community.
• Fostering a community culture and an expectation of Working Together for Community Excellence, Pride and Progress through the
• Voices of LIFT | Monthly Texarkana Gazette editorials from June 2012 to present. These editorials publicize the commitments of community leaders for ensuring community excellence, LIFT the expectations of citizens to those commitments and challenge all citizens to take their measure of responsibility for the community's future. 

LIFT is about working with intention to reap the mutual benefits to every citizen from working smart and working together for community excellence throughout our community.  LIFT resonates with citizens because all want our community to be “Second to None” instead of ever settling for Half as Nice.