Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9501060010
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"I remember I walked into the room to meet with the first panel. There were eight people sitting around the table, and seven of them represented neighborhood groups," she said, grinning. "That's how I knew that Roanoke was serious about neighborhoods."
Since 1989, Cicero has made strengthening the city's neighborhoods and empowering their residents her top priorities. As coordinator of the partnership, she worked with a wide range of neighborhood groups, stressing leadership training, self-help and recognition of good service.
Last week, however, she geared up for a new mission in a not-so-new place. She's returning to Rochester, N.Y., where she lived and worked as director of the YWCA's teen pregnancy program before coming to Roanoke. In Rochester, Cicero will begin her new job as the YWCA's director of program development and community liaison.
Leaving Roanoke will be hard, she said, but Cicero is proud of what the civic organizations and the partnership have accomplished.
"We now have 25 neighborhood groups and three neighborhood business associations that are members of the partnership. All are at different stages, but that's fine," she said. "We've got groups from all over, some from the inner-city and some from more affluent neighborhoods. We have proved it can work."
The partnership, which was founded in 1980, does not go out and mobilize residents itself. Instead, it helps guide interested citizens, providing training and support.
"The partnership was never set up to create dependency," Cicero said. "The philosophy is that we will help you help yourself."
That's an approach that sits well with Florine Thornhill, president of the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization, who said Cicero has become "like a daughter" to her.
"Stephanie loved the way our group worked because we were self-helping," Thornhill said. "She supported us in everything we initiated. She worked with all the neighborhoods. I don't see how she did it, but she did, and the more you put out, the more she'd help."
Under Cicero's leadership, the partnership developed a manual and miniseminars to help neighborhoods chart their goals.
"We found that neighborhoods had a hard time articulating their needs, prioritizing them and focusing on one or two or three so that they'd see progress," Cicero explained. "Partnership in Action is a self-help manual that addresses this. I'm really proud of that effort."
Dick Willis, president of Old Southwest Inc., credited Cicero with helping to move his organization forward, from a loose grass-roots group to a well-organized, more professional association.
"Stephanie helped us become more diplomatic. For a long time neighborhood groups around here were a bunch of very informal organizations trying to do adult things, but not in a very professional way," Willis said. "She made us realize that city officials are professionals and if we want to work with them, we had to be professional too."
Willis said Cicero's support was especially helpful in Old Southwest Inc.'s projects to clean up Highland Park and install a fountain there.
When groups work well, Cicero said, it is important to recognize the achievements. In the past five years, the partnership has nominated several groups for awards and encouraged civic groups to congratulate their members.
"Too often, we don't celebrate our successes," she said. "The fact is we have people in Roanoke working every day to make positive changes."
During her years as coordinator, Cicero quickly navigated her way through city offices, advocating for neighborhoods all the while. Though a petite woman, Cicero was "a heavyweight at City Hall," Mayor David Bowers said.
The position of partnership coordinator requires a careful balancing act. Serving the city and its individual neighborhoods isn't always easy, particularly when there are differing perspectives and agendas. Cicero said developing trust with the neighborhoods is essential.
"I've never been a punching bag," she said. "The partnership is a part of the city structure. There is no question about that, but this office truly is a liaison, an advocate and the neighborhoods know that."
She pointed to the building of the city's solid waste transfer station as an example of Roanoke's recognition that early communication with communities works best. Neighborhood people were invited to join the project's advisory board from the beginning and their input helped Roanoke build a better facility, she said.
"There's no smell. It's aesthetically-pleasing. If anything, we get criticized for spending too much money on it, but the city has no problem with that. We have a happy neighborhood and a facility to be proud of," she said.
Even at her going-away party last week, Cicero managed to bring the city and the neighborhoods together. Dozens of leaders filled the Alexander Gish house to wish her well.
"It was March 1, 1989 when Stephanie came to work for the city," City Manager Bob Herbert began. He paused. "Let me rephrase that," he said. "That was the day she came to work for the neighborhoods."
by CNB