Woodstock City Council has locked in a new set of guiding principles. In a unanimous vote, officials rolled out a mission and vision statement, along with a fresh set of core values, for the northern Georgia city. The move was made during the Regular Meeting of Mayor and Council on February 12, as announced in a recent statement from the city.
An annual retreat, which included strategic planning sessions for crafting these statements, took place from January 12 until today in Greenville, South Carolina. It featured Woodstock's elected officials and the city's management team hashing out the details. Deputy City Manager Coty Thigpen remarked on the process, "When Woodstock Chief Information Officer Katy Leggett and I led city leaders in a strategic planning process at our recent retreat, our goal was to come out of those sessions with a mission and vision statement as well as core values that we all agreed upon. We accomplished that in a very collaborative way which is true to the values of our organization," as per the same city statement.
The newly adopted mission statement proudly declares: "Building a city that feels like home." Complementing this is the vision statement aiming for a future where Woodstock is "Boldly pursuing what's next to build a thriving community." And the core values? They are distilled into three words: Bold, Collaborative, and Authentic.
Despite the absence of Council Members Brian Wolfe and Rob Usher, the resolution passed with a four to zero vote. Mayor Michael Caldwell expressed his enthusiasm following the approval, "Congratulations to the whole City of Woodstock team. We have a brand new mission and vision and I'm excited for what's next." The city now looks to these benchmarks as it strides into a future it hopes to shape with intention and community spirit.
