Gifted to the community of Springdale by Bernice and Harvey Jones, The Jones Center and its 52-acre campus has been an epicenter of recreation, education and non-profit work for over 25 years. In November 2020, The Jones Center received a Design Excellence Grant from the Walton Family Foundation, providing the resources to begin reimagining the campus to ensure another 25 years of living into the organization’s mission.
The Jones Trust board hired the Denver-based landscape architecture firm, Civitas, Inc., and the Velocity Group was brought on the team to lead the community engagement and communications strategy. The visioning process occurred entirely during the global pandemic, underscoring the need to push beyond a conventional communications strategy. Virtual meeting technology, video storytelling, robust social media strategies, one-on-one meetings with clear safety protocols, surveys and aligned outdoor activations that exemplified The Jones Center mission.
Our approach broadened The Jones Center social network, deepened diverse community relationships, provided opportunities for small and emerging businesses and strengthened vital stakeholder feedback loops that can be leveraged for future initiatives.
As part of public engagement, three online surveys, each in English, Spanish and Marshallese, garnered over 1,800 responses. Social media interactions exceeded 115,000 people, 13 virtual meetings included more than 300 community members, and in-person community group meetings with over 100 attendees. A project specific website was also launched through the process, with 5,438 site visits from November 2020 – May 2021. We also held three outdoor community events to share information, providing over 800 meals during the pandemic, which included helping launch the first Marshallese food truck in Northwest Arkansas.
