Updayton Summit

UpDayton Summit 101

March 23, 2018 By Guest Contributor

You’ve been hearing about the UpDayton Summit for weeks now, but what exactly is it? Whether you haven’t been to a one in years or this is your first time, we’re here to explain all that you need to know about our big annual event!

The annual UpDayton Summit is a launchpad for volunteer-powered community projects. At the event, over 200 participants vote to decide which creative young community leaders will receive seed money and the support of UpDayton to bring their ideas to action. Examples of past winning projects include The Longest Table, the #DaytonInspirescampaign and selfie wall, purchasing and installing 70 bike racks in business districts and neighborhoods in the Dayton community, and many others

The UpDayton Summit is hosted at the Dayton Art Institute in its big Shaw Gothic Cloister event space on Thursday, April 26 at 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Once you park at the museum and head in the main entrance, Summit volunteers will help guide you to the sign-in and registration tables in the Great Hall. Then there is a fair amount of mingling as everyone arrives, so you can shake hands with the best young professionals in the Dayton area.

As the Summit program begins, we will ask you to turn your attention to the stage area. There our project leaders will each make a short presentation about their ideas for the Gem City. Once the presentations have concluded, you will use the ballot you received when you checked in to vote on your favorite projects. We’ll take a break for some food while the votes are counted, and then we will announce the top three winning projects at the end of the night!

Throughout the evening you’ll have the opportunity to volunteer for UpDayton permanent teams, like Marketing or Advocacy. After the summit is over, check our Facebook page for more information about the first meeting for the winning projects if you want to pitch in to make them a reality.

Are you excited to help make real change in our community? Register for the summit today and save your seat.

And The New UpDayton Projects are…

April 27, 2017 By Lisa Grigsby

Tonight a crowd of 250+ packed the Gothic Cloister of the Dayton Art Institute with Daytonians who were ready to take #Ideas2Action. After time to mix and mingle, grab a drink at the bar and a quick nosh, 12 presenters at the UpDayton Summit shared their projects with the crowd.

From rooftop parties, to soap box derbies, carnivals and days of discomfort, it was easy to see the passion and plans many had for ways to ignite our community around ideas of making a difference.

Guests were given two votes each and the following presenters ended up being selected and given $1000 seed money to start putting their ideas into action!

Bryan Stewart
Project Rebound

Bryan is a huge advocate for a more connected community. His project seeks to use basketball and other sports as a way to bridge divides and boost Dayton children.

Devon Stinson
Comfort Bags

Devon is a former foster youth with a passion for giving back and telling her story. Her projects seeks to partner with Agape for Youth to expand their Comfort Bags program, we can ensure that children stepping into a new home have something to call their own.

Karlos Marshall & Moses Mbeseha
The Reading Park Project

Karlos and Moses are the co-founders of The Conscious Connect, Inc., a nonprofit with the mission to eradicate urban “book deserts.” Their project seeks to turn underutilized spaces along the Salem Peace Corridor into welcoming places to read a book, have an event, or learn something new.

Stay tuned for more info on how you can get involved and help make these plans come to life!

2017 UpDayton Summit Project Previews

April 26, 2017 By Lisa Grigsby

The UpDayton Summit is tomorrow (Thursday, April 27th), starting at 5:3opm at the Dayton Art Institute. What, you’re not registered- there’s still time! Do it online now!

The annual UpDayton Summit is a launchpad for volunteer-powered community projects. At the event, participants vote to decide which creative young community leaders will receive $1,000 in seed money and the support of UpDayton to bring their ideas to action. Examples of past winning projects include The Longest Table event, the #DaytonInspires campaign and selfie wall, purchasing and installing 70 bike racks in business districts and neighborhoods in the Dayton community, and many others.

. Once all the ideas have been presented, the audience will vote to select the top 3 ideas for implementation in 2017. The event will also include opportunities for participants to connect with project team leaders and other ways to get involved in the community.

Meet the 2017 UpDayton Summit presenters and read about their projects:

Jason Antonick
Rooftop RendezView

Jason knows that downtown Dayton is booming with new development, but word has only just begun to reach the rest of our region. His project brings a one-of-a-kind event to life on the roof of the Transportation Center garage.

Tom Everhart & Beth Miller
Wagtown™ Dog Track

Beth and Tom believe dog-friendly communities are better communities for everyone. Their project seeks to create a dog-friendly walking route connecting Webster Station and the Oregon District.

Jerod Frenzl
Community Garden Expo

Jerod came to Dayton through the AmeriCorps program and has been too involved in the community to think about moving anywhere else. His project teaches residents of all ages how to grow their own produce and use it in everyday cooking.

Christine Hamilton
Third Street Three

Christine Hamilton is a City of Dayton police officer. She sees first-hand how community pride counteracts vandalism and strengthens neighborhoods. Her project brings together police, artists, neighbors and the courts to create three murals along the East Third Street corridor.

Wes Hartshorn & Jeff Paul
Carnival on a Corner

Wes & Jeff, performing artists themselves, want to fill the streets of downtown Dayton with fire jugglers, musicians and more. Their project seeks to inspire new audiences and support for these artists.

Nick Hrkman Project Title: Artruist A little bit about Nick's project.

Nick Hrkman
Artruist

Nick is generous with his time volunteering to support all kinds of organizations in the community. His project inspires volunteers to give more by rewarding them with works from local artists.

Karlos Marshall & Moses Mbeseha
The Reading Park Project

Amanda Miller & Lauren White
Beyond Addiction

To Lauren & Amanda the heroin epidemic isn’t just a headline—it’s personal. Their project challenges us to think differently about people challenged by addiction and our role in supporting them.

Bryan Stewart
Project Rebound

Bryan is a huge advocate for a more connected community. His project seeks to use basketball and other sports as a way to bridge divides and boost Dayton children.

Devon Stinson
Comfort Bags

Devon is a former foster youth with a passion for giving back and telling her story. Her projects seeks to partner with Agape for Youth to expand their Comfort Bags program.

Robert Walker
It’s All Downhill from Here

Robert is a downtown entrepreneur and a champion for Dayton. His project brings the soap box derby, a Dayton invention, back to our city with some new twists.

Marshall Weil
Day of International Discomfort (DID)

Marshall believes Dayton is a place where you can make anything happen. His project challenges us to go beyond our comfort zone to explore Dayton places we’ve never been with people we’ve never met.

UpDayton Summit To Debut Dayton Icon Chocolate

April 21, 2017 By Lisa Grigsby

A New Dayton Icon was a project idea pitched in April 2016 at the UpDayton Summit by Kelly Sexton of K12 Gallery & TEJAS. The project set out to bring a new, iconic public sculpture to Dayton, designed and built by the community. After the votes (200+) were cast, the Dayton Icon became more than just an idea.

UpDayton put out a Call to Artists and last October a panel of judges gathered to select the winning design.

Nick Gaskins and the Bing Design team were selected as the winner. They call their design “Dayton’s Duality” with each letter consisting of two pieces – a rough steel portion which represents our city’s solid and sturdy past, and a shiny steel portion which represents our bright, promising future. All pieces would be upwards of 5 ft. tall, flat, offset slightly, and staggered so the word DAYTON can be read at an angle. Shifting shadows add interest by constantly changing the presentation. They envision the icon mounted on a long, low base that could double as a place to sit or creatively pose with the sculpture.

Funding and constructing the Dayton Icon project is a big endeavor and UpDayton has partnered with Winans Chocolatees & Coffees to launch a chocolate version of the design as a fundraiser to help bring the actual Icon to fruition. Those attending the 2017 UpDayton Summit on Thursday, April 27th at 5:30pm at the Dayton Art Institute will have the opportunity to purchase the first release of the chocolate version of Dayton’s Duality for just $5.

The chocolates will go on sale to the general public sometime later this spring. All of the proceeds of the chocolate bars will go to support the Dayton Icon Project.

Another project that came out of the 2017 Summit is The Longest Table. Hundreds of Daytonians gathered on Saturday, October 15th, 2016 for a community meal and dialogue on the Third Street Bridge – Dayton’s Peace Bridge. The goal of the event was to connect Daytonians from every corner of the city and region, to meet people we never would have met otherwise. People were randomly assigned to a table and spent the afternoon learning about each other and the neighborhoods we love. The event was such a hit, it’s continued brining folks from the Miami Valley together over meals around town. The next community meal is this Saturday, April 22nd from 1:30 – 3:30pm, co-hosted by East End Community Services in Dayton’s Twin Towers neighborhood.

If you’d like to be part of the team that selects the 2017 projects register now to attend the UpDayton Summit. Ten individuals (or teams) will each have 3 minutes to pitch their project idea to the Summit audience. Once all the ideas have been presented, the audience will vote to select the top 3 ideas for implementation in 2017.

The event will also include opportunities for participants to connect with project team leaders and other ways to get involved in the community.

Prevent UpDayton Summit FOMO – Register now!

April 5, 2016 By Guest Contributor

“FOMO – Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website” – OxfordDictionaries.com

Registration
To avoid UpDayton Summit FOMO, we’d like to invite you to register as soon as possible for this year’s UpDayton Summit! You’ll find the registration form here.

What is the UpDayton Summit?
In its eighth year, the UpDayton Summit will return to the Dayton Art Institute on Thursday, April 28th at 5:30pm. At the Summit you’ll vote to decide which three creative young leaders will receive $1,000 budgets and the support of UpDayton volunteers to bring their ideas to action in the coming year. Past projects have included murals that transform urban places, the installation of more than 70 new bike racks in Dayton business districts, an ongoing community positivity campaign asserting that “Dayton Inspires,” and more!

What’s different about this year’s Summit?
If you’ve been to past UpDayton Summits, you’re in for some surprises!

New time – We’ve moved the event from a Friday afternoon to a Thursday evening. We received feedback that many young professionals had a hard time getting out of work without using their vacation time.

New format – In past years there were typically three simultaneous breakout sessions where groups would assess a particular category of ideas and discuss the pros and cons of each. Then each breakout would choose a winner from their group. This year, only 10 ideas will be pitched to the entire Summit audience. Each audience member will receive a ballot and select their three favorite project ideas. The top three vote recipients will then receive the usual $1,000 budgets and support of UpDayton volunteers. Even for the project ideas that aren’t selected, the event serves as a powerful launchpad for those leaders to move forward with the idea on their own.

New vibe – Now that we’re competing with your Thursday evening social plans, we knew we had to change our offering a little. There will be food, a cash bar, time to mingle, and some in-your-face performances from local artists!

See you there!

UpDayton To Grow Impact in 2016

January 30, 2016 By Dayton Most Metro

UpDayton, an initiative launched in 2007 to make Dayton a magnet for young and creative talent, held their 2016 Launch Event on January 26th at the Schuster Center, following the Dayton Development Coalition’s Annual Meeting. UpDayton leaders detailed the ways that young professionals, college campuses, businesses and community organizations can join the movement to create change in the city.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley stressed the city’s commitment to strong partnership and challenged young people to get involved, “We need your help recreating the downtown space that is our authentic urban core.” UpDayton works closely with the city and county governments, as well as other area organizations and non-profits to accomplish their mission of talent attraction and retention.

The growing support from community partners and sponsors has also allowed UpDayton to experiment with new ideas and formats as well as further develop its Discover Dayton program. The program is an effort to engage local employers and college campuses by providing perception-changing experiences of the Dayton region for students and young professionals.

“In 2015 we encountered hundreds of young Daytonians excited and ready to make their mark on

Updayton Director AJ Ferguson

Dayton’s transformation. They sense a new era beginning in Dayton and know it needs their energy and ideas,” said AJ Ferguson, the organization’s director. UpDayton wants incoming volunteers to discover a variety of opportunities in both what UpDayton organizes and what others are doing to make a difference in Dayton. Ferguson adds, “UpDayton fuels a movement far bigger than itself. If Dayton wants to attract the next generation of talent, then the people and approaches of the next generation have to
permeate everything our community is doing.”

Dayton Development Coalition leaders invited UpDayton to partner in their annual meeting for two reasons: to drive interest among young professionals in the bigger picture of the region’s economy and to encourage businesses and community organizations to support and engage with UpDayton. Specifically, UpDayton invites more employers to participate in its Discover Dayton program. UpDayton also announced plans to hold a Talent Symposium in late summer. This event would bring employers and
community leaders together to discuss the region’s talent needs.

UpDayton also announced the date of the 2016 UpDayton Summit and a change to the event format. This annual event brings young creatives together to share their needs and concerns for the region, and to vote on ideas to make the Miami Valley a better place to live, work and play. Winning ideas receive $1000 seed money from UpDayton and a team of interested volunteers. Along with the move to an evening event, the Summit format is changing to better reflect the needs of the community and will feature a “Shark-Tank/TED Talk” format with project pitches. The goal is to have project ideas be further refined than at past summits to allow them to have a stronger start and more impact in the community. The 2016 UpDayton Summit will take place the evening of Thursday, April 28th.

UpDayton Summit Wants To Hear Your Idea For A Better Dayton!

April 4, 2015 By Dayton Most Metro

The UpDayton Board of Directors has named the keynote speakers for the UpDayton Summit on April 10. This year’s event will feature two keynote speakers, both affiliates of the Detroit Future City nonprofit group tasked with re-imagining Detroit’s urban planning and civic engagement programs. Together, they will present case studies from Detroit demonstrating how volunteers and civic engagement (plus a well-developed community plan) made an impact in the Motor City, providing tips and insight to help volunteers polish the Gem City.

Charles Cross, ASLA, is the senior landscape designer at the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture. He holds degrees in agriculture and urban landscape architecture as well as a master’s in urban design.
Allandra Bulger is a Detroit revitalization fellow serving as a program manager for the Detroit Future City implementation office and convenes the civic capacity working group. Allandra has held a number of leadership positions in human service organizations including managing a Title IV-E funding program of the Wayne County Juvenile Assessment Center, and working at DEXDesign Associates Inc, where she specialized in developing and delivering technical assistance to community based nonprofit organizations.

This year’s UpDayton summit will be held on Friday, April 10, 2015 from 2 – 6 p.m. at the Dayton Art Institute. Registration is now open at updayton.city.

UpDayton is a volunteer-organized, nonprofit organization dedicated to attracting and retaining young talent in the greater Dayton area. Its action plan committees meet regularly to formulate and execute ideas to make Dayton a better place to live, work and play. Additionally, UpDayton’s Catalyst Program offers services to help area colleges and businesses better connect their students and young professionals to the region through personal interaction.

Meet AJ Ferguson, UpDayton’s New Executive Director

February 17, 2015 By Lisa Grigsby

AJ Ferguson started his new role as Updyaton Executive Director this week. His role is to ignite and lead this young professional organization on their mission of spurring economic growth in the Dayton region by attracting and retaining young talent. The group’s signature event is the annual UpDayton Summit, which gathers over 300 hundred Dayton area residents to share and vote on ideas to make Dayton a better place to live, work and play.

“When I attended my first UpDayton Summit in 2012, I was overwhelmingly inspired by the enthusiasm and creativity in the room. It was this experience at the Summit that pulled me into an UpDayton project, into moving downtown, and ultimately into applying for the director position” – says AJ.

AJ grew up in the Dayton area and has a strong background of involvement and leadership in the region. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (2012) and a Master’s in Renewable and Clean Energy (2013). His passion for improving the region stems from his experiences in the University of Dayton’s Rivers Institute and Fitz Center for Leadership in Community.

“The story of Dayton’s revival is getting exciting and I, like all those involved with UpDayton, want to be part of it. I cannot wait to get started,” said Ferguson.

Ferguson’s previous professional experience includes internships with the UD Rivers Institute, Sustainable Pittsburgh, and the Dayton Regional Green initiative. He most recently worked as the chief operating officer at a local start-up company called Dropoly.

We asked AJ to answer some questions for us:

AJ on the water (photo courtesy Facebook)

Describe the Dayton region with 3 words:
Inspiring untapped potential

If you were showing prospective newcomers to Dayton – what 3 places would you take them to?
2nd Street Market, any local brewery, kayaking on the Mad River into downtown

I’d never have to leave Dayton if it had ….
all my friends who live in other cities and states

The thing the “powers that be” don’t realize about young professionals is…
We want places and employers that share our values, especially our desire for work-life balance.

What I hope to accomplish during my time at Updayton….
I think the watershed moment for young Daytonians is still ahead. We want young adults to be engaged and thriving in the Dayton region to the point that young people everywhere are curious about what’s happening in Dayton, Ohio. When Dayton is making lists of millennial-friendly cities and regions, we’ll know we’re getting there.

I still have much to learn from the board and past leaders of the organization before championing a particular direction, but some themes have emerged so far:

– The UpDayton board and core volunteers are incredibly committed and put tons of time into UpDayton’s mission. We accomplish more than a typical organization of our size because of them. So, goal one is to keep such a good thing going and growing.

– We’d like to get the organization to the next level in order to grow our impact and become a more powerful force for attracting and retaining young talent. For this purpose, we hope to grow our organization’s capacity and resources. We’ll do this through increased fundraising as well as creative programs that generate revenue for the organization while simultaneously advancing our mission.

– Last year UpDayton launched its Catalyst Program with the support of Montgomery County. The programs three focus areas are creating leadership opportunities for young people, connecting with college campuses and engaging new hires at local employers. A major goal for the organization will be refining and growing this program in the coming years. Human Resources teams at area employers are on the front lines of the talent retention and attraction conversation. I’m particularly interested in how we can continue to support them with our expertise in demonstrating why young adults love this region.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’d like to express my gratitude for Laura Estandia’s work while in the position and her continued support through the transition. She did an incredible job advancing the organization in her time as director and will continue to be a leader for the organization.

And I’d like to invite everyone to join us for our Summit:

Pitch your ideas to make Dayton more vibrant at the annual UpDayton Summit, 2-6 pm Friday, April 10, at the Dayton Art Institute. Meet young professionals, government officials, community leaders, and other people invested in brightening the shine on the Gem City! You can register online now.

Pitch, Vote, Ignite!

February 7, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

We’re proud to announce the 2014 Summit keynote speaker, Cynthia Bowen. RW Armstrong’s Director of Planning and Urban Design and the Region 4 Representative on the board of the American Planning Association, Bowen has traveled the world redesigning cities into vibrant urban centers. She’ll have an idea or two for how we can help build Dayton.

New this year: Summit attendees will be able to submit ideas beforehand for improving Dayton, which will be voted on at the summit. They will also be able to indicate whether they’d like to lead a project. The actual summit will be where we discuss and vote on the ideas. Registration and the “Idea submission form” will open on the day of February 17th. You can submit ideas until April 4th.

Each of the three top ideas will get a year’s worth of support from UpDayton and its community partner and $1,000 seed money from UpDayton, to aid in project completion. Ideas should fall within the project guidelines and must not be and already existing project or program to be considered for voting at the Summit.

Need help formulating ideas? Want to meet with other young people your age to discuss how to ignite change in Dayton? Then, join us from 6-8pm in one of our three “Pints and Perspectives” (P&P) events, where we will learn more about livability in Dayton and what kinds of information and resources are available from UpDayton’s community partners Five Rivers MetroParks, the Downtown Dayton Partnership and Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. The event dates are:

February 17th – Fox & Hound (Beavercreek)
March 5th – Warped Wing Brewing Co. (Dayton)
March 19th – TJ Chumps (Miamisburg)

After you attend a P&P, come to the 6th annual UpDayton Summit at the Dayton Art Institute on April 11th from 2:00- 6:00 PM. The theme of our summit this year is “IGNITE!” This grassroots gathering offers a chance to come together with your peers to brainstorm ideas on how to make Dayton a better place to live, work, and play.

Change is in your hands with updayton

April 23, 2012 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

It’s almost time for the annual updayton Summit!

What? You’re not excited? Well, maybe it’s because you don’t know what it is or how much it’s impacted the Dayton area. Allow me to fill you in!

updayton was conceived in 2007 as a way to attract and keep young talent through engagement, connection and empowerment of the young creatives in the Miami Valley. The organization partners with and is sponsored by other local organizations and businesses.

Current updayton Director Yvette Kelly-Fields says, “The Summit provides a platform for people to use creative thinking and problem solving to address issues that affect the attraction and retention of young talent to the region. We are starting to see the fruits of our labor as we see more young professionals moving into the downtown, opening businesses and filling local jobs.”

Former Director Scott Murphy said he believes the summit has helped to spotlight critical issues to help keep more young people in the region. He enjoys the energy and excitement associated with the event and said he’s “particularly proud of how we’ve been able to take the feedback we receive from Summit attendees and turn that into recommendations for local leaders.”

As a graduating college student, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my fellow students complain there isn’t enough opportunity for them as young entrepreneurs around Dayton. They’d rather try their luck in a different city, or even a different state that seems to have better employment options.

But as the updayton site says, we can be the change we want to see, and it has been successful in its endeavors for community and economic change.

“Each project last year created both community and economic impact,” said Maria Norman, in charge of public relations for the organization.

In fact, the current iteration of this very website (Dayton MostMetro.com) was born out of the first updayton summit three years ago, when summit participants in a live survey of various community project ideas voted overwhelming for a comprehensive online resource for the Dayton Region. Since then, the site has grown with the help of over 40 volunteer interns, writers and editors, and has become the go-to site for tens of thousands of people in the region wanting to connect with things to see, do and get involved with.

Winner of the "Unifying the Divide: Bridge Paint Project" - Dayton Wags

Currently, the Creative Communities project is continuing to work on a major beautification project between the Oregon District and South Park neighborhoods called “Unifying the Divide: Bridge Paint”. “This will raise the visibility of both areas and serve as a new attraction and destination point for the City for native Daytonians and visitors,” said Norman.

The focus this year is on increasing residents’ use of alternative transportation, aiding the integration of diverse immigrants in the area, reviving the Twin Towers neighborhood, and developing a sustainable program to improve community’s college students’ perceptions of downtown and encouraging them to participate in and experience all downtown has to offer. Also, for the first time, updayton will present a panel of experts in urban revitalization and who will show how they are changing the game in their community. They’ve been appropriately named, Game Changers.

“It has been said, if you want to change the world, start with your city, start with the updayton Summit. Change starts there,” says Director Kelly-Fields.

The updayton Summit will be held on Friday, April 27, 2012 at the Dayton Art Institute. For more information or to register to attend, visit their website at updayton.com or check them out on Facebook.