Home%20Town%20Competitiveness:%20A%20Come-Back/Give-Back%20Approach%20to%20Rural%20Community%20Building

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Home Town CompetitivenessA Come-Back/Give-Back
Approach to Rural Community Building

• Sponsored by
• The Nebraska Community Foundation
• The Heartland Center for Leadership Development
• Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

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Hometown Competitiveness Field Day on
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Windmill A Symbol of the Nebraska Community
Foundation
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Report by Craig Hertel, Greene County Extension
Education Director

• Thanks to the Community Vitality Center at Iowa
  State University for support to this conference
• and
• The Nebraska Home Town Competitiveness partners
  for their materials, ideas and program.

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Welcome to Atkinson, Nebraska

• One of the reasons for the field day was to
  showcase an actual community, and its physical
  attributes.
• This community sign is the first thing you see
  driving into town.

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About Atkinson, Nebraska

• Located in Northern NE, in Holt County. Holt Co.
  is an oversized county, about 50 miles square.
  Population 11,500.
• ONeill is county seat, with 3,500 people
• Atkinson, population 1,244, is 18 miles from
  ONeill.

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Down the road ¼ mile

• Further into town, I saw another sign that jumped
  out and caught my eye
• Little did I know how important it was to the HTC
  model

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The Home Town Competitiveness (HTC) model
encourages action

1. Mobilize Local Leaders
2. Energize Entrepreneurship
3. Capture Wealth Transfer
4. Attract Young People

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1. Mobilizing Local Leaders

1. Communities must be intentional about recruiting
   and nurturing an increasing number of women,
   minorities and young people into decision-making
   roles
2. Tap into everyones potential knowledge, talent
   aspirations
3. The usual suspects model works for recruiting new
   business, but entrepreneurship is not limited by
   income or industry. So, including more people
   networks increases odds for successful community
   entrepreneurship.
4. Continuing leadership training programs

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2. Capturing Wealth Transfer

1. Rural residents do not always recognize local
   wealth, because so much of it is held through
   land ownership.
2. Most people are at first shocked, and then highly
   motivated, one they understand the enormous
   amount of local wealth that will transfer out of
   the area to heirs who have migrated.
3. Planned gifts need to be cultivated now!

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3. Energizing entrepreneurship

• The Nebraska Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
  focuses on
• 1. Saving Main Street through planned
  ownership succession
• 2. Creating new wealth and good jobs by
  helping entrepreneurial companies that have
  potential to break through to a broader
  product-line and/or larger market
• 3. Using local charitable assets to support
  entrepreneurial development

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Nebraska Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
Challenge

• Far too many communities continue to invest
  resources in economic development for job
  creation and business development that exports,
  rather than builds, local wealth.
• HTC model embraces local business and strategic
  downtown redevelopment efforts

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4. Attracting Young People

• HTC teaches
• How to target youths attraction
• Create career opportunities
• Nurture a sense of ownership and vested interest
  in the communitys future leaders

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Conference reinforced the 4 Pillars of HTC

• Most sessions had panel discussion
• Each time all 4 pillars highlighted
• Community spokesman seemed very clear on the need
  for the 4 pillars, although smaller communities
  (lt400) may focus on 2-3 pillars
• For a relatively new model, people seemed to
  easily grasp on terms, reasons and approach
• Many of the community examples just getting off
  the ground therefore, immediate reflections of
  getting started (and motivated to perform since
  they had to report!)

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Panelist comments

• The Sandhills 3-county group residents appeared
  afraid of here we go again these efforts come
  and go.
• Valley observation youth had more profound
  comments than adults
• Think about strategically about succession of
  the home owned business.
• The 4 pillars may not all happen at once, or at
  the same speed. Adjust
• Think regionally

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Youth component.

• Very visible (presence, tour leaders, signage)
• Youth NOT the future they are the Present!
• Strategy to personally connect with H.S. students
  and finding people to come home
• Goal 11-14 of graduating class to return
• Goal is being monitored
• Personal mentoring and encouragement
• Want them to leave BUT come back!
• Early in their life connections to stay

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Leadership has progressed

• Used to be leaders had to know the right answer.
• Then, leaders had to know the right question.
• Now, leaders need to know who to go to!

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Observations

• Significant number of young adults in the
  audience from across Nebraska and border states.
  In visiting, good enthusiasm and interest in
  making a difference!
• Same exact comments of community challenges as we
  hear in Iowa!

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Potpourri

• Importance of Entrepreneurial Skills I.D.
• Key is what community leaders Say Do, and
  setting a good example
• Old challenge of how to get the Old Guard to
  buy-in, always an issue
• Need rural (out of town) participation to balance
  out city resident needs
• Use Chamber list serve for outreach
• Build Hope

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Philanthropy pillar

• Ex. Ord, Valley Co -- 1.2 million gift via will
  leverages other giving to 5.2 M in
  expectancies
• 5 Nebraska target seemed well known goal 5
  tied to actual, measurable numbers
• Banks and individual donations used as impetus to
  initiate giving
• Philanthropy used as gifts/loans to support
  entrepreneurship pillar

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Surprised that

• The importance of retail business in the model
  caught me off guard
• new business tied to retail
• Efforts put in by community facilitators to
  encourage retail
• Importance to community image was retail
  establishments
• Number of retail places in town of 1,244
• Retail seemed to attract youth

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more on Retail

• 6. Retail places visited all had their nitch
  market that covered a wider area
• -- IGA ?locker ? seasoning ? mail
• -- Ogden Hardware ? Dish
• -- Something Special ? asks wholesalers if
  anyone has this merchandise w/in 100miles
• -- Old fashion soda fountain
• -- Clothing jeans outlet

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Cautions

• Can that much retail hold on? Business increases
  as more businesses develop.
• Surprised that I heard retail business, but not
  manufacturing or other businesses
• Fear expressed of Wal-Mart by participants of
  conference retails
• Holt County early pioneer of irrigation in
  Midwest, therefore, lots of money made in late
  1960s, early 1970s

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The Sign

• It changed the Youths Attitude!
• Developed by the youth
• They owned the sign, and had tremendous pride
  in it
• Prominent!

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Downtown Attractiveness Pride

• The flags were out!
• A main intersection had a message board, with
  attractive landscaping
• Streets were kept up
• All field day participants were bused downtown
  for a 5-stop walking tour.

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High School Youth Engagement

• The High School youth were not only the tour
  guides, but clearly actively involved in framing
  the enthusiasm and future community plans.
• Encouraging youth to return was one of the 4
  pillars of HTC.

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Town of 1,244 3 Hardware stores

• Ogden Hardware was run/owned by a young person.
• One line of merchandise, dish network, had a
  service area of about 100 miles.
• Father co-signed initial loan noted need for
  start-up capital

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Gift-tee type items EVERYWHERE!

• Something Special by Marilyn is indeed a
  special destination store
• Very large, two story retail store full of gifts
  galore for any occasion
• Business started about 11 years ago by two local
  women.
• Would be a draw for women everywhere!

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On the community center wall

• . Were four wall hangings, strategically placed
  by the restrooms!
• Each one was a positive quote that a left a great
  impression.

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Question?

• Can this Hometown Competiveness Model be
  implemented without cash incentive and grant
  money?
• -- Perhaps if there is strong community
  leadership that is present and training to act
• If no at the beginning to hire human resources,
  then it is encumbent on the community to rally
  and see the benefits, and fund appropriately

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Community Road Map
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Organizing

• Formation of
• Steering Committee
• Leadership Working Group
• Entrepreneurship Working Group
• Philanthropy Working Group
• Youth Working Group
• Leadership Training

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Steps in Process

• Develop clear goals map assets, identify needed
  programs and services
• Identify potential entrepreneurs, conduct visits,
  offer one-on-one entrepreneurial training,
  develop strategies for long-term entrepreneurial
  development
• Conduct youth entrepreneurship courses, hold
  summer youth camps
• Promote human and financial investment

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Atkinson youth promote community pride
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Atkinson, Stuart youth serve as active leaders in
downtown entrepreneurial developments
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Its all about attitude
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Brauns IGA, owned by two brothers, is a grocery
store, meat locker, deer and game processor,
catering business, processor/distributor of meat
seasonings, and a trophy hunting guide service.
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Ogden Hardware is now owned by the original
owners son, who returned from a high-paying job
in Colorado, to purchase and manage the Atkinson
store.
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A gazebo in a park-like setting and flags greeted
visitors to an area of Atkinson currently on the
Main Street architects drawing board for
redevelopment.
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A new sign graces the town entrance. It marks a
new beginning for Atkinson and serves as one of
many steps community citizens plan to take to
revitalize home.
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Donor Perspective

• Reinvestment through philanthropic efforts
• Creates personal and community pride
• Offers opportunities for youth and adults to stay
  in the community
• Builds local business
• Demonstrates citizens care about their
  communities
• Creates a cycle of wealth