One of the recurring frustrations I’ve heard from community groups is that it’s hard to publicize local events in a way that actually reaches residents. The town newsletter only goes out once a month, and the town website calendar isn’t something outside groups can directly update.
So I proposed a new system.
The idea is to let vetted community organizations (like Cheverly Village, CBGC, and the Scouts) submit events for the town calendar. The plan I sent to the Town Administrator and Communications Specialist outlines a secure workflow using CivicPlus (our website backend):
- A form just for trusted groups, accessible only through logins assigned to approved organizations.
- Submissions would be reviewed by town staff, ensuring quality and appropriateness.
- Approved events would be entered into a special “Community Events” calendar category, which residents could subscribe to with their phone or email calendar app.
This would let residents “set it and forget it.” New community events would show up automatically in their calendar without any manual checking.
I’ll update this once we’ve met and there’s a clear next step forward. If you help run a community group and want to be part of this process, let me know.