Volunteer Portraits

May 20, 2003:

Meet Dabney Sanders

Dabney Sanders got involved with Action Greensboro because she saw its activities as a way for her to become a part of the community, and she’s particularly interested in downtown revitalization and Greensboro’s perception of itself.

Meet Dabney Sanders

Dabney Sanders grew up in Atlanta and Providence, Rhode Island, and moved to Greensboro in the Fall of 1999 with her husband Walker. She got involved with Action Greensboro because she saw its activities as a way for her to become a part of the community, and she’s particularly interested in downtown revitalization and Greensboro’s perception of itself. She served on Action Greensboro’s Brand/Image task force, and says many common themes emerged even in the group’s first meeting. “People really focused on the strengths of Greensboro and tried to address the negatives in a productive way.” She has also attended Center City planning meetings and is currently part of a group of volunteers helping to organize a weekly Farmers’ Market in the vicinity of the Depot.

Dabney served as the Special Events & Volunteer Coordinator for Triad Stage during the year it opened and says the best part of the experience was being part of such an ambitious start-up project and learning about the theater business. She currently volunteers at the Green Hill Center For NC Art and at the Weatherspoon Art Museum and is enthusiastic about the NC Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition sponsored by the Greensboro Artists League, on exhibition throughout downtown Greensboro through April. The sculpture, by high caliber artists from across the US, is all for sale, and Dabney hopes some of it will be purchased and displayed here permanently. She lived in Charlotte for 10 years and comments, "Charlotte has done a wonderful job using public art to contribute to a positive image of the city. What works so well for them is the corporate support." The owners or tenants of downtown buildings commissioned many of the pieces. One of her favorites is the Seventh Street Parking Deck, which has interactive sound and light components: a puzzle that, when solved, causes the whole building to light up and "sing". She also likes the low stone wall in the new South Tryon Street Park that uses motion detectors to respond to visitors with the sounds of gurgling water—and then insects begin coming out of the wall.

Dabney enjoyed the ethnic and socio-economic mix of people in Rhode Island, still visits there every summer, and has watched Providence transform through its recent revitalization process. She wishes Greensboro had more late-night dining opportunities, so you could grab a bite after a play or concert, and she looks forward to the new center city park, which she hopes will receive creative input from artists during the planning process. "I think Greensboro is a wonderful city. It has the friendliness of a smaller town with many larger city amenities. I wish Greensboro would stop complaining about what it isn’t and begin to treasure what it is. I think Action Greensboro has done a great job using both outside consultants for expertise and local grassroots input in moving forward with its programs."