If indeed two heads are better than one, just think what 40 cooperating minds can accomplish. What activates these inquisitive minds is a profound wisdom that when one of us benefits, we all benefit.

ELANCO Community Collaboration Gathering is the perfect name because it tells exactly what the collective group is all about.

"The goal is to give local businesses, civic organizations and churches a forum to update what they are doing and to collaborate," said Allison Cuthie, the executive director of CrossNet Ministries, which hosts the ELANCO Community Collaboration Gatherings. "It's just a good way to reintroduce things to the community. I think there's a lot of value in us coming together. It's an opportunity to share."

The next edition of the locale's triannual bull session, brainstorming and networking event is right around the corner. The fall installment of the ELANCO Community Collaboration Gathering will be conducted at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, inside CrossNet Ministries' spacious youth center, 110 W. Franklin St., New Holland.

The gathering is free to attend and open to the public. Donuts and coffee will be served.

"It's sort of like a roundtable discussion, but in the shape of a horseshoe and everyone gets a seat at the table," said Cuthie. "It's less decision-making and more sharing. We hold it in the morning before work so it's convenient for people. You can leave marketing materials, and then we'll send out notes from the meeting."

Typically, the ELANCO Community Collaboration Gatherings last about an hour.

"I (serve as the master of ceremonies for) it to keep things moving along," said Cuthie. "It's a very open and welcoming opportunity to share. It's a community forum. Because it's people from all different organizations, you get a really clear picture of the state of the union in ELANCO. There might be an announcement for something happening at a church. There might be a report of how many calls the ambulance association went on. That's why it's important to involve as many people as we can."

At any given gathering, 40 representatives from the local police department, the local government, the ELANCO School District, social workers and civically minded citizens will be in attendance.

"They are people who genuinely want to serve others in the community," said Cuthie. "They're there to find out what's going on in the community. People are coming to learn more about what's going on in the schools. It's awareness types of things. I think the interest level is high. It's 'where do I go to be involved?' That's the question I'm hearing, and the ELANCO Community Collaboration Gathering is providing answers."

The ELANCO Community Collaboration Gathering was established in 2019 and was previously hosted by the ELANCO School District. CrossNet Ministries hosted its initial gathering in February of this year.

"We have seven aligning values that we operate under, and the last one is 'we're better together,'" said Cuthie. "It's an easy thing for us to adopt and promote. We want to learn about other organizations and what they're doing. We want to be a community-facing organization. It's important to me, as the executive director, for CrossNet to be integrated into the community."

The following ELANCO Community Collaboration Gathering will be held at CrossNet Minstries at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2027.

For additional information, go to http://www.elancocross.org.