From Jack Shultz Boomtown Institute April 21, 2009
Take Charge of Your Community Within the past couple of weeks, we have received two great stories from community leaders telling about the positive things happening in their hometowns. Each involves a powerful Can Do Spirit.
Estherville, IA You spoke at our chamber banquet in Estherville, Iowa about five years ago in our new community complex. Remember? That spirit you felt at that time is alive and well today! Today, the national economy is in a recession. But in Estherville, we just opened two new industries (25 new jobs), will open two new retail stores in the next few days and weeks, opened a new coffee shop and have several new business prospects. Wow! Sure, we’ve had some layoffs by local industries. We do our best to assist with that but we don’t let the negative dictate how we operate here. We completed a 10-year strategic plan last year and now have more than a 100 volunteers working on the nine overall goals and 38 specific strategies identified to get us started. We raised $100,000 in 100-days to get folks started. In the next few years, I believe we will re-open a local downhill ski facility, develop a new ATV trails park, develop a new RV camp ground, develop a new moto-cross riding and racing facility, expand our trails system and much more. Lyle Hevern, Mayor, 24th year
reposted from Jack Shultz Boomtown Newsletter.
I re-post this from Jack’s newsletter because it really hit home to me. Before my move to Oklahoma 33 years ago, Estherville Iowa was a second home to me. I lived in neighboring Minnesota and Estherville was a short drive that I made often. I still have many friends in that area and in fact, two of my now grown sons live 12 miles from Estherville. I understand from them that employment is getting a little tough there and this article makes me feel a little more positive about their future ability to stay employed. Raising $100,000 in a rural farm community is no small feat, not to mention they did it in 100 days.
So what can we learn from Estherville Iowa?
- They have a plan for 10 years strategic devlopment
- They have over 100 volunteers working together
- They have identified goals with specific strategies
And, most important they have a positive, can-do attitude!
The re-opening of the downhill ski slope and additional development plans will be a plus for the whole rural area. Kudos to Mayor Lyle Hevern!
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