I had the honor of presenting all day in Malden, Washington to the area community leaders, providers, and visitors. I was brought to town by Paul Kimmel from Avista and the Inland Northwest Partners.
We talked about the results of the Survey of Rural Challenges to kick off the day.
Lots of people nodded their heads in agreement (because you told us what your challenges are.)
Then I answered some questions about items in my book.
The audience each received a copy, and they had questions. Like ‘Tell me more about Andrew Laddaslaw.” And “Tekoa is in the book! Tell us about that.”
I asked Roy from Tekoa to come up front; he wasn’t keen on it, but he did.
First small change – have them sit down with you.
Once Roy realized he could sit down and just talk to me, he felt a lot better.
He shared how one empty building owner got pictures of people in town, had them coated so they wouldn’t fade, and put them in the windows of her empty building.
That’s Roy and me. Sitting down in front of the room.
Second small change – ask a few more people to join you.
I started looking at a few folks in the audience and asked them to come up front, one by one, for a little discussion.
I wanted their name, who they worked for, and what one thing about them that people might not know.
It’s a great icebreaker and puts folks at ease with a bit of laughter. Josh from Innovia told us he’d been working for them for two years. His little-known fact was Innovia was founded in the 1970s by four women. That brought applause!
Third small change – find the resources to help others.
This was a room with plenty of people who represented resources that others in the room needed.
Talking with them, asking questions on how they could help, and creating connections in front of the group was beneficial to all. I didn’t know everyone who came up, but I do know everyone has something to share.
After lunch, they learned the Idea Friendly Method
They split up into groups and worked on their own Idea Friendly Projects. Each group shared what they were going to do when they got back to town.
Malden shared how they would bring a cafe to town.
These attendees were excited to use the Idea Friendly Method. They learned that they were not to do all the work themselves. I encouraged them to create small but meaningful steps so more people could be involved and help.
Malden is going to start their cafe in the new community center.
- First, they’ll try out the idea and host a cook-off.
- They will invite the health inspector before the event and ask them to come and teach them what they need to do in order to serve food to the public. The kitchen is already a commercially licensed kitchen.
- The students will make flyers for them.
- There are a few homeless people in Malden, and they will ask the homeless to help distribute the flyers.
Malden, where the event was held in the new community center and library, lost the majority of its town to wildfire in 2020. They built the community center and city hall first so people would have somewhere to go right away. Their mayor, Dan, is excited about the possibilities of growth and the ability to serve the residents.
Dan on the right, and his wife Tam sitting down reading my book.
I enjoy trying new things (part of taking small steps) and have learned not to be afraid of it not working. It’s just a test of an idea! Failure is not bad; it’s a learning tool.
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