February Blog Questions / Leadership
There’s always been kind of a standing joke here in Armour when we’re trying to make get started on a community project. One of the first steps to get the ball rolling is to find volunteers to be in charge … and, inevitably, the Same 10 People are in charge … STP = same 10 people. As I think about our Horizons work, I know there are now more than 10 people involved in all the projects we’ve got going. And some of them had not been attending many community meetings before we started our Horizons work.
How has your community leadership expanded?
Horizons has enabled Armour to experience a diversification of its leadership roster. The core group of people who has always been involved is still around, but there are more people who have stepped up to accept responsibility for our various efforts. One fact of life in a small town is that a certain percentage of the younger demographic is going to work out of town because they can find better paying jobs in larger communities. Horizons reeled some of those folks in and, I think, reconnected them to the community.
What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions?
I think Horizons gave some people who were “background” volunteers the incentive to take a more active role in various projects. I think everyone involved in Horizons has probably heard the comment, “Nobody ever asked for my help before.” That’s not so true anymore.
Throw in your two cents by hitting the comment link.
February 29th, 2008 at 7:50 am
We are fortunate to have people step forward and be willing to help out. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to get a EMT class arranged and people will step forward to help out. This is desperate time for the ambulance service with just a handful of EMT’s in our community. We could easily have to depend upon neighboring communities for ambulance service. Will it take 30 minutes for the ambulance to reach your door or will we be able to supply enough EMT’s so that time can be dropped to 10 minutes or less. During an emergency (from experience) 10 minutes seems like a lifetime - I don’t know how 30 may feel.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am
The ambulance issue is tough, because not everyone has the disposition to be an EMT. Plus, I know some people who have said they would like to do it but cannot because of work (employer won’t agree to let them take call during the day). Is there a less intense program that people could start in that would introduce them to the field & let them know if that is something they’d be comfortable doing? What is the First Responder program like vs. the EMT program? I too, would hate to see us loose this service.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
First responders can respond & do what they are able but can not transport so you still need an ambulance crew to transport. I don’t know what that training is like or what they are able to “legally” do when they do respond.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:06 pm
We have had people step forward in Tyndall and volunteer more-some who may not be volunteering other places. Our Bargain Shoppe is run by volunteers and is kept open 3 days a week! Yes, we have the STP group too, but you will notice that even in a big city you have that….Horizons has provided our communities with a wealth of knowledge and HOPE.
March 9th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I would like to comment that it was very exciting to see some new faces participate in the study circles, leadership plenty and the strategic planning process. I greatly feel that together we can achieve more. For instance, it has taken the entire community to not only get “our” theater up and running, but also to maintain its existence for close to 9 years. The entire community is to credit for that project and with the help of the Horizons project we hope to have many more success stories like this in the years to come.