Conversation has always been central to Price Hill Will. What kind of neighborhood do we want to raise our kids in? What are the strengths of this neighborhood that have kept so many long-term residents here? How can changes be embraced so that the community grows and stays healthy? Perhaps most importantly, what can we, as neighbors, do to build on the best of what already exists in our community?

These are the questions that got the original Price Hill Will steering committee motivated. These were residents, business people, school principals, and community leaders. Clearly, everyone was interested in strengthening Price Hill, but they also wanted to be a positive movement and one that was based on the hopes and dreams of the neighborhood.

The group hired Chet Bowling, of Ohio State University, to help them get started on this endeavor. Chet is an expert in
Appreciate Inquiry, which is a method of interviewing that enables people to discover strengths and focus on the positive. With his help, the group designed an interview to be given to residents about Price Hill.

Thousands of interviews were conducted: neighbors interviewed each other, students from the Bible College interviewed neighbors and middle school students interviewed their parents. Volunteers read the notes from the interviewsand pulled out common themes that had emerged. For instance, many people mentioned how important their church community was, and many people talked about how their neighbors had always known and looked out for each other. They came up with a series of "bold statements" - statements that paraphrased the positive themes that had emerged. These statements were painted onto colorful banners.

Next, the whole neighborhood was invited to come together and talk about the future of the neighborhood. The banners
were hung around the room, and residents were asked to stand under the statement that they felt most strongly about. For example, some neighbors stood under the statement, "The Arts in Price Hill Provide Meaning and Cultural Fulfillment," and others stood under "People in Price Hill are close to their neighbors." This was the beginning of the Community Action Teams, and many of the people who were at the first meeting are still making a difference in the community by working on the issue they feel strongly about.