Armour, SD

8. Sustaining action and creating structural change around leadership:

Q. How can your community sustain the changes it has already made in its leadership?

A. I think the key to maintaining the leadership that grew out of the Horizons’ project is to keep inviting new people to participate. One thing we learned through Horizons is that there are a lot of people who are willing to help if they are asked. Another thing is to continue to engage people in projects that they have a passion for. We have to remember that while cleaning up at the lake or Parents & Teachers Together might be favorite projects for some people, other people will have no interest those projects. It’s okay for each of us to serve as leaders for projects and organizations that will keep us energized. We also need to remember that there are a variety of leadership positions–some public and some behind the scenes. Again, it is important to allow each person to work in his or her comfort zone.

Q. What structural changes have been made so that your community leadership sustains partnerships with others?

A. Many of the Horizons’ projects have developed natural partnerships. For example, the Parents & Teachers Together group which originated with Horizons is now working hand-in-hand with the school district. The Cabin Committee is now partnering with the Armour Lions Club and The Armour Community Foundation to complete the cabin project in the Lions’ Park. These are just a couple examples of how partnerships are being used to make good projects even stronger.  

12. Sustaining action and creating structural change around community:

Q. How will your community make decisions about seeking further resources to support its plans?

A.  One funding vehicle that was rejuvenated under the Horizons’ project is the Armour Community Foundation. Although the endowment is not yet large enough to fund large community projects, it has already provided some funding for the Women In Action, J20, Senior Citizens, Horizons Cabin Committee/Armour Lions, Child Identification Program (CHIPS)/Masons and Lorain Theater. Hopefully people will begin to see the value of investing in the foundation as a way to support local non-profit projects. Even if a person can’t afford to make a large donation, small resources pooled together can have a great impact.  It is also a great way to leave your legacy in the Armour community.

Q. Is a system in place to maintain contact with, or to continue to work with other communities?  With your Delivery Organization? In other partnerships?

 A. The blog has been a great way to learn about what is happening in other communities. I think that it will be much harder to maintain communication between communities after the grant has ended. The local groups seem to have gotten “rooted,” and I think they will simply continue to communicate through a variety of formats such as the newspaper, newsletters, Web sites, etc. These things are already being used, for example, by groups like the PTT.

Speaking of economic development, tomorrow is the 2008 Launch conference on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. This conference is bringing together more than 300 people who are interested in issues such entrepreneurship and economic development. As I wrote in an earlier blog, I attended last year and this conference provided a fantastic networking opportunity for little money. I am going again this year, and I hope to see some of you there.

I don’t know if the noon lunch  is full, but I there may still be room for you at the conference. Unless you are a student, I would encourage you to sign up for the “educator’s track.” (This must mean that you’re going to get educated, I guess, not that you need to be an educator!). That is what they told me to sign up for.

Here is a sample of some of the people I met at last year’s conference: new and experienced economic development people from around the state; entrepreneurs, or people who want to be but don’t know where to begin; resource people; successful businessmen and women who have advice to share; and youth who are excited about possibly coming back to South Dakota to establish businesses after they graduate. This is just a sampling!

 For more information, here is the Web site http://www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference/index.htm and the FMI number on Web site contact:

Questions: Call 605.996.1140 or 800.487.1740 (toll free)

Those of you who know me well, know that I am not particularly political. I can pretty easily look at a political issue or candidate and see both sides. Perhaps it is from years of editorial writing–who knows? At any rate, there is a lot of controversy right now over a local zoning issue that some people say is going to impact economic development in Douglas County. Of course, there are two perspectives on what the economic development impact will be like.

The Douglas County Commissioners are proposing a change to the setback distance required for animal confinements built in the county. Currently, the setback distance for animal confinements of more than 1,000 head of cattle or 2,500 head of hogs is one-mile. In essence, this means that you can’t build a confinement unit larger than this closer than one mile to the nearest home, church or school without obtaining a special permit. To obtain the permit, the effected neighbors have to sign a waiver. Oh, one thing I should add is this: units smaller than 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs aren’t regulated under the current zoning ordinance. It is my understanding they can be built almost anywhere.The proposed change to the zoning ordinance would reduce the setback distance from one mile to one-half mile. That means that a confinement unit of any size could be built as close as one-half mile to a house, church or school without needing a special permit. A special permit would still be needed to build closer than a half mile.

Those in favor of the change say that it is necessary for economic development. They say large animal confinement units are more efficient, they will bring jobs to the area, grow our schools and may save our struggling rural economy. While large animal confinement facilities may provide some short-term economic benefits, based on everything I have studied since we began the Horizons project last year, I cannot find any research that show there are any sustainable benefits to local economic development.

During the past year, I have had several opportunities to hear economic development professionals from both inside and outside South Dakota speak about rural economic development. Almost every speaker said that rural communities that have invested a majority of their financial and human resources into “smokestack chasing” (or trying to attract outside industries, investors or corporations to bring in a larger number of jobs all at once) have failed. Each expert cited different reasons for the failures, such attracting blue-collar vs. white-collar industries, lack of infrastructure in communities, lack of housing, insufficient support services such as public transportation, tax incentives cost other taxpayers more, etc. While there are too many reasons to list them all here, I do want to mention the one they all agreed on: a town or a county can’t expect some outside investor, corporation or industry to “save it.” Sustainable growth must build from within a community. Small businesses owned by someone with a vested interest in the community (where they live and their kids attend school) are always more likely to be successful and are a better investment.

I read an excellent article on this subject by John Ikerd, an Agricultural Economist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. The article is long (10 pages, small type), but it details why some people have concerns about large-scale animal confinements, why some people support them and what rural communities must consider as they make their choice whether to invite them into their area. The article reminds people that sustainable economic development must be built on three cornerstones: ecological soundness, economic viability and social justice. These three cornerstones must ALL be present for long-term sustainability, not just one or two of them. The article also reminds us that we must consider the well being of the community as a whole.

If you live in Douglas County and are going to have an opportunity to vote on this issue, I would encourage you to do your own research before the March 4 election. Like we have learned through the Horizons’ project, we need to work together to plan for future development in our community. Ikerd says, ”Rural people must become activitely involved in shaping the destiny of their communities.” I think he’s right. It’s up to those of us who live here to make choices for our community based on research, reason and concern for the long-term well being of our community. We can’t base out decisions on emotion or because short term solutions are often easier.

If you are interested, here is the link to the article by Ikerd. I’m know there are many others, but I like this one because Ikerd is an academic who can afford to be a “neutral party.” So many of the articles I read are by groups or individuals directly involved in the issue, who of course, have bias toward one side or another. I also like the fact that Ikred’s article is written in layman’s terms: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/16/15444.htm 

I’ll be interested to hear what others think.

And one more from Todd. I asked him what new resources have been secured to assist in the work of the community since Horizons began. His answer, “The blog.” Watch the video for his comments.

Armour’s Lorain Theatre will be showing The Final Season November 2-3-4. I think it’s worth mentioning on the blog because the movie has a small town theme and the plot contains elements that could easily play out in a community the size of Armour — specifically the prospect of a school consolidation and what effect that would have on a town.

In the small town of Norway, Iowa, everyone comes together for high school baseball. But life throws curve balls; and the passionate young players, rookie coach Kent Stock (Sean Astin), and the hometown fans find that life’s greatest challenges strike off the diamond. The Final Season is the true story of a coach who inspired his team and brought hope to a town when they needed it most.

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As you know, the Armour Community Foundation has been challenged to raise $20,000 by June 30, 2008. If that goal is met, an anonymous donor will provide $10,000 in matching funds. We have received some great donations toward this goal and want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed thus far. But to meet this challenge, we are going to need help from everyone in our community.

I have heard many people say they don’t give to things like this because they can’t afford to make a large gift–they feel like their gift won’t matter. But I am here to tell you, that’s wrong! Every gift does count! Large or small, YOUR gift will make a difference.

If each of the 700 people who live in Armour supported the Armour Community Foundation with a $20 gift this year, that would amount to $14,000!!! Think of that!

Remember, the money that is donated to the Armour Community Foundation is going to be spent to help the projects of non-profit organizations in the ARMOUR COMMUNITY. We need YOU!!! To help us meet the challenge goal, send donations to: Armour Community Foundation, PO Box 333, Armour, SD  57313.

THANK YOU for supporting Armour!!!!