Next canvass workshop to take place in March 2012

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber will announce “in the next two months” the destination for the seventh canvass workshop, which will take place in March 2012, says BRAC spokesman Mike Odom. The workshops will no longer be an annual event, Odom says, but will take place once every 18 months. “After six trips, there are fewer communities that we really want to go to and look at, and feel that we can really learn from,” Odom says. “At this point in the Canvas Workshop lifecycle, 18 months is just a better fit for what we’re trying to accomplish.” Since 2003, workshops have taken place in Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; and Pittsburgh. On the new schedule, Odom says, the topics of interest researched and discussed on the canvass trips will be more narrowly tailored. In the past, more than 100 community leaders have attended the weekend workshops, focusing on issues such as education reform, downtown development, regional planning and transportation. —Steve Sanoski