Idea Friendly Solutions to the old way of thinking
Idea Friendly Solutions to the old way of thinking You’ve been answering the Survey of Rural Challenges for ten years now. One of the common themes is the persistence of old way thinking. In rural communities, old-way thinkers are often the folks who say things like: Let’s not change anything; we like it this way. …
Let go of the old way
Are you still trying to connect with people the old way? On LinkedIn an economic developer posted this: Local government has spent years bending over backward to get more public engagement. We’ve expanded meetings, flooded social media with updates, hosted town halls, and created endless platforms for feedback. And yet, after all of that effort,…
2024 – an absolute whirlwind of adventures, ideas, and community building goodness
Phew! What a year it’s been. From small towns to big ideas, 2024 has shown me once again that the heart of community development lies in the passion and creativity of people like you. Chatsworth, Georgia: Where Empty Buildings Come to Life We kicked off the year in Chatsworth, Georgia, where the Chamber of Commerce…
Clean ups don’t need to be hard – Natchez, Mississippi
Having an idea, bringing people together, and taking small steps gets things done. Joe Smith, executive director of Black Natchez, wanted a clean-up of his street, MLK Street. Joe told me, “I took a page from your playbook and worked to build a coalition and gather allies.” Anyone can host a clean-up. In Natchez, clean-up…
What do flowers have to do with community?
Chris Brogan has picked up his camera again. He takes photos on his daily walk and shares them on YouTube. Here’s a bit of advice about how he finds the motivation to keep on going. I was watching a video about how some people lose motivation to go out and shoot photos, and that their…
What’s one thing missing in small towns? Communication!
Becky and I are working in Lander County, Nevada, on an Intensive Idea Friendly Project. I visited in August, and as I was preparing my follow-up presentation, I noticed something important. People said they wanted certain things, and I found out many of those things were already available in their county! People asked if they could get…
Start your own beautification project
I’ll be traveling to a small county in Nevada to help with a beautification project. So will Becky later on – it’s an Intensive, Idea Friendly Package. Back in my chamber days, this kind of thing would scare the bejesus out of me. It would involve endless meetings with boring, important-feeling people. No talking to the…
Bikes on Bell
The owners of Bell Street Tattoo in Shawnee, OK, had this idea for an event – Bikes on Bell. They wanted to close the street in front of their shop downtown and invite bikers and anyone else to come and meet each other, eat from the food trucks, listen to live music, and have some…
Just get started – take small steps
Memorial Day weekend of 2024, a block-long building in Alpine, Texas, burned to the ground. In a small town, that’s just horrible. There was a cooperative art gallery, bakery and cafe, hair salon, antique shop, and jewelry store located in the historic structure. As you can imagine, the store owners were in shock. Some said…
Talent Attraction: How do you find people to move to your town?
Talent Attraction is a new keyword. It simply means finding new people to come to your town! People are moving to small hometowns, bringing their work and young families with them. Do you know who they are? These 30–—to 44-year-olds arrive with college degrees, years of experience in the workplace, and large professional networks. Often, they…