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)

If you’ve checked out the video blogs that were posted yesterday, you’ll know a little bit about our Community Club. We’re just getting started on our work for the year, so if you’ve never attended the meetings, now would be a good time to show up. The added bonus is that now you’ll also be able to follow the progress on our Horizons projects because we talk about them every month at Community Club.

Community Club is a way for Armour’s leaders to stay on top of things in the community. It’s a good place to share ideas and talk about our struggles as well as our successes. Adding Horizons into the  mix is a good way to keep things moving forward.

Here’s the 2008 Community Club Schedule. We meet at noon on the third Monday of each month. Lunch is served, but you are responsible for paying for your own meal. (Note: The meetings are held at the restaurant that serves except on the months when it’s XPress Mart’s turn. Then the meetings are held in City Hall.)

• February 18 – XPress Mart
• March 17 – Blue Moon
• April 21 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• May 19 – Hoi Polloi
• June 16 – XPress Mart
• July 21 – Blue Moon
• August 18 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• September 15 – Hoi Polloi
• October 20 – XPress Mart
• November 17 – Blue Moon
• December 15 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• January 19, 2009 – Hoi Polloi

Here’s Todd. He’s a Horizons member, blogger and business owner. He can fix your car when it breaks down. He doesn’t like to type very well, but he went along with this goofy video experiment. Thanks, Todd! You’re a good sport.

Todd wants to tell you about Armour’s Community Club. That’s our local organization that’s similar to the Jaycees in a larger town. Community Club members work to promote business in Armour. When Horizons started, the Community Club embraced the effort and has included the various Horizons project groups in its monthly meetings.

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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