THOM 1 | Fall / Winter 2013

collaborators
opportunity to sit with like-minded people for a bit of
time and just ruminate feels like a luxury. These four
individuals, however, have made it a necessity.
“We are really protective of what this is and what
we all need as individuals for the Idea Treehouse to
be,” Bunny explains. “We don’t find this anywhere
else.” She isn’t a native of Thomasville, but I would
never have known that from her intense loyalty to
the town. The creator of the local creative paper
Thomasville Townie, Bunny looks like she stepped right
out of the 1940s, complete with her bouncy blond
bob and sassy talk. When I ask what she writes about
in the Townie, she looks at me with her sharp bluegreen
eyes and unabashedly says, “I only cover what
the cool people should be doing.” When I laugh she
explains, “No really. If I think it’s cool then I will put
it in there.”
When she moved to Thomasville, Bunny found it
was easy for her to get a sense of who the people of
Thomasville are, and what they value. “I think in my
paper and my blog I can distill that and make it into
little edible chunks for people who are not from here.
I think that there is a perception that everyone here
is landed gentry from way back when, and the truth
is, nobody here cares and that’s why they live here.” I
realize that Bunny doesn’t care either, and she brings
her free spirit, matched by her strong loyalty to
Thomasville, into the Idea Treehouse.
Brent Runyon shares that loyalty to Thomasville,
though he might not voice it as often or as loudly.
Brent, in his position as director of Thomasville
Landmarks, preserves the old Thomasville while
championing the new. I quickly grasp that this
juxtaposition of old and new permeates Brent’s
life. When I walk into his living room, I can’t help
but notice the plush Victorian-style couch placed
below a piece of artwork painted in primary colors
with children’s building blocks and sequins. Or
the arts-and-crafts rocking chair near the pop art
poster. Or the framed photograph of his great, great
grandfather and a mule caravan at the entrance to
his Ikea-like kitchen.
Brent explains that most of the furnishings came
from his grandmother, but the artwork is more his
taste. I comment that somehow it all flows together.
He shrugs. “This house is all over the place, like I
am.” It’s this ability to gather the old and the new,
and produce something distinctive, that really sets
Brent apart in the Idea Treehouse. He is effective and
forward moving, but with a special reverence for
the past.
If Haile brings her desire to connect people to the
Treehouse, Bunny brings her loyalty, Brent brings
his reverence and effectiveness, then Michele brings
the momentum. Executive Director of Thomasville
Center for the Arts, Michele is passionate about
connecting the community and forming a creative
web of people. She and I share a nerd moment as
we discover our mutual fascination with creative
placemaking and using the arts to improve
communities.
Though for me it is a recent passion, Michele’s strong
love of community and connections started from a
young age. She remembers being 9 or 10 and playing
in the orange grove in her backyard. “I would create
cities and towns. I’ve always been intrigued by the
idea of community. So somehow, I guess I’ve come
full circle.” It is that lifelong passion that inspires her
to nurture this Thomasville collective.
As I listen to these four creative leaders talk and toss
around ideas, I am reminded of the easy, uninhibited
conversations of childhood. Idea Treehouse is
the grown up and realizable version of “playing
community.” I love getting to peek into this space
they have created, to get a glimpse of these creative
minds and what they each bring to the table.
But the Idea Treehouse is their space. In a
minute, I’ll get up. I’ll duck out and climb down
the metaphorical ladder and leave them to their
musings. In just a minute I’ll stop listening to them
inspire and enjoy the ideas of each other.
I promise I’ll leave. In just a minute.
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