Are you free this Saturday morning?  Would you like to take some free fitness classes at Southeast Community Center?  Have lunch with Mayor Dean?  

If you're nodding your head, join us for the kick-off of MyCity Connect, a new initiative from the Mayor's Office of New Americans that provides an opportunity for New Americans and more established residents to network and get to know each other while enjoying fun, free activities at some of Nashville's great civic and cultural locations.

Event information is as follows: 

WHAT:  MyCity Connect Kick-Off

ACTIVITIES:  Tour of Southeast Community Center, free fitness classes and lunch with Mayor Dean

WHEN:  Saturday, March 14, 9:30am-12:30pm

WHERE:  Southeast Community Center, 5260 Hickory Hollow Parkway, Suite 202, Antioch

COST:  Free to participants

Space is limited, and participants must RSVP by Thursday, March 12 using this link.

The Mayor's Office of New Americans is proud to announce that 37 community leaders have been selected to participate in the 2015 class of MyCity Academy, the free leadership-training program that empowers participants to understand and participate in Nashville's government. 

This year's participants represent 23 different countries, including 11--Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iran, Liberia, Panama, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Venezuela and Vietnam--that have never before been represented in MyCity Academy. 

The first session of MyCity Academy 2015 will take place on March 19 and will focus on Nashville's government and its civil rights history. 

More Nashvillians applied for MyCity Academy this year than ever before, and the selection process was very competitive. This year's class is the largest in MyCity Academy's four-year history. 

Portions of each class will be available on the Mayor's Office of New Americans website. 

In January 2015, Mayor Dean signed an executive order designed to help ensure that Metro Government's workforce reflects Nashville's rich diversity.  The order created the Diversity Advisory Committee (DAC), a 13-member group led by Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn and Metro Water Services Director Scott Potter.

The DAC serves in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and is developing a plan that will ultimately assist all Metropolitan Government agencies in their efforts to recruit, hire and retain a workforce that is inclusive and representative of Nashville's local demographics.

The DAC is holding a series of three public listening sessions to explore methods for increasing employee diversity within the Metropolitan Government and impediments job seekers may be facing.  Information about the sessions is as follows: 

Tuesday, March 10
Hadley Park Community Center
1037 28th Avenue North
6:00-7:30pm
Large Meeting Room

Thursday, March 12th
Coleman Park Community Center
384 Thompson Lane
6:00-7:30pm
Large Meeting Room

Friday, March 13th
Howard Office Building
700 2nd Avenue South
11:30am-1:00pm
Sonny West Conference Center 

Spanish translation services and a sign language interpreter will be available. 

Metro employees and members of the public may also give their input via this online survey, which will be available through March 31st. 

Registration Now Open for the Mayor's Scholars Academy

The Mayor’s Scholars Academy, a free academic- enrichment program that takes place over four weeks in the summer, is now accepting applications.  

The Mayor's Scholars Academy helps students succeed in high school and prepare for college through math, writing and arts instruction, as well as ACT prep and college visits. Lunch and weekly field trips are provided at no cost.  

Students who are currently in the 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th grade in Metro schools are eligible to apply.

Transportation is provided if the student lives in the busing zones for Cane Ridge, McGavock, Hunters Lane or Whites Creek.  More information and online applications are on the Mayor’s Scholars Academy website.  Applications are due by April 30, 2015.  

Third Neighborhood Leadership Forum Takes Place this Saturday

Have you heard? The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods is partnering with alumni from Lipscomb’s Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership to host neighborhood leadership training and engagement sessions.  We have now completed two sessions, and if you missed them you can find the materials online.

Session III will be held this Saturday, March 14 from 9:00am to 12:30pm at the Howard School Building in the Sonny West Conference Center, 700 Second Avenue South.  You will have a chance to learn more about development with presentations from the Metro Planning and Codes Departments.  We hope to see you there for as much time as you can commit!

The project team responsible for the city's new minor league ballpark, which will open next month when the Nashville Sounds' season begins, will host a community meeting on Monday, March 16 at 5:00pm at the Sonny West Conference Center in the Howard Office Building, 700 Second Avenue South.  All are invited to attend.

During this informational meeting, the project team will update community members on their traffic and parking plans and will take written questions and comments.