AGENDA
RED SPRINGS NC STEP LEADERSHIP TEAM
COMMUNITY BUILDING (CROSS ST.)
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011
6:30 – 8:30 P.M.
I. Welcome and Announcements – STEP Co-chair Willie Goodyear
v REDI Report – Johnny Robertson
II. Economic Development Strategies
Ø Consensus on Strategies – Strategy Discussion Paper
III. Strategy Subcommittee Structure
Ø Establish subcommittees
• Identify subcommittee chairs
• Identify members
• Expand to include additional community members
• Invite to next meeting for orientation and to begin project
development
Ø Draft strategy implementation statement – See “Framing Your Strategy”
IV. Adjourn – Next meeting date – Thursday, June 20, 2011
Minutes of STEP Meeting May 16, 2011 with Chilton Rogers
Respectfully submitted by Margie Labadie, Secretary
1.Willie Goodyear opened and welcomed new people.
2. Chilton began and everyone introduced themselves.
Chilton discussed Mission statement and Vision statement were passed around the
room
Annoucements :
A. Wastewater workshop / physical infrastructure
B. STEP Spring Training workshop will be in RS from 10-2 is full. SMALL Towns
Creating Opportunities. 3 New publications.
Living on the Margins:
Rural NC in the Aftermath of the Great Recession
Asset-building Strategies for the Low-income Families
A Guidebook for Connecting Individuals to Opportunity
Johnny report on REDI
1) Strategy Discussion Paper (SEE BELOW)
Consensus on Strategies
2) Framing Your Strategy
Strategic subcommittees
3) project development
Proposed Discussion...
1) Broadening Educational Opportunities - skill delivery in relevant & interesting ways.
Community Access. Library part of county system as of July.
2) Remake RS into an entrepreneurial economy - community supports already in place.
Use the Red Spring and market Red Springs.Hispanic mentors a focus of support. Kim,
ElectricCities and Chamber should be a part.
3) Leadership Pipeline
4) "Last Mile" broadband - Donna Sullivan e-NC
(Note: send community assessment to new people)
5) Expand philanthropy - NC Gives
6) Beautification & Aesthetics
Speakers:
Kim Pevia- Regional Coordinator, Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is about building upon lessons of the past. What do you want to do?
Vision is needed.
Jim Stella - ElectricCities, Retail Development Specialist
Share business ideas within the community. Get business plans together. Get
established businesses to support new businesses.
Mentors needed.
*Broadening Education
Jim Vaughn
MBL
Callie Smith
Frances Patterson
Anika
Kim P
*Remake Red Springs thru e-ship
Kim P
Bob M
Willie
Michelle
Eva
John mcN
Brandy
Caroline
Bob Mc
*L-ship
Kim
Margie
Willie
Chub
Tim H
Neil
Elma
*"last mile"
(e-NC)
John mcN
Chris
Chubb
Jimmy Melvin
*Aesthetics
Dale
Candace
Eva
Johnny
Michelle
* Philanthropy
Frances
Tim
Willie
Groups will meet and develop a strategy statement. To answer what this mean for RS.
Use Strategy Development - Framing your strategy. form. Final document should be
about 1/2 page long.
Group will meet June 9 & 16 @ 6 pm for dinner. Meeting starts at 6:30. We may have a
change of venue if Community room is booked.
During these meetings folks will develop strategies. Send completed strategy
documents to Margie/Johnny and we will forward to Chilton.
Chilton Will compile and bring to next monthly STEP meeting on June 20th which is a
MONDAY.
Only 3 more months until we finish!
----
FRAMING YOUR STRATEGY: FROM CHILTON ROGERS
Red Springs Strategy Discussion Paper
NC STEP Program
May 16, 2011
At the last Red Springs STEP Leadership Team meeting held on Monday, April 18th, 2011, discussion focused on two subjects: (1) Red Springs’ Community Assessment, especially the matrix of assets and constraints to growing and sustaining a local economy, and (2) strategy development. The Community Assessment is the second deliverable required by the NC Rural Center during the planning phase of the STEP program (the first being the Community Profile).
The Matrix of Assets and Constraints in the Red Springs Community Assessment was the springboard for brainstorming potential economic development strategies for the town. The team was asked to look for broad strategies and themes that stood out to them. What patterns did they see by matching the asset or constraint about their community with one or more of the “six paths to growing an economy?”
To think about the viability of potential strategies, several questions were put to the Leadership Team to consider as they discussed possibilities:
v What’s possible and/or doable for the town and the leadership team to accomplish?
v What are the opportunities presented by the strategy (i.e., what assets support it)?
v What are the weaknesses of it (i.e., what barriers constrain it)?
v Who is the target audience? (audiences)
v What are the goals of this strategy – what is it supposed to accomplish?
v If you were to move to Red Springs, what would you look for?
v What business support strategies make the most sense?
v What community development and civic engagement initiatives need to be in place or happen to reach your target audience(s)?
The following is a summary of the strategy identification discussion:
1) Concentrate on broadening educational opportunities in Red Springs for traditional and non-traditional students. Given that the graduation rate in Red Springs sits at 69% and that 21st century jobs require more and different educational attainment (plus computer literacy skills) for the community to be economically competitive, much discussion centered on skill delivery. That is, how can the young and/or unemployed people in the Red Springs area get the training they need to get or create a good job without being “turned off?”
Questions such as:
v What can the STEP leadership team do to help keep kids in school and graduate?
v What can the STEP leadership team do to help get those out of school retrained with the skills and/or certifications necessary for them to either get better jobs or create ones for themselves?
v To what degree does the community value education? How can this be improved?
Current delivery systems are not attractive nor do they have the equipment and resources necessary -- and young people want a place to go to hang out, learn, and access state of the art equipment and high speed internet connection. Robeson Community College (RCC), UNC-P, the K-12 school system, 4-H, NC REAL (Note: Is this available in Red Springs or through RCC?), and the Boys and Girls Club offer alternative educational opportunities in the Red Springs area, however, the offerings are not coordinated nor are they delivered in a format that young people like – or that seem relevant to them.
Could there be a central location where all these modalities intersect and the content is youth driven or directed? Could the STEP team coordinate offerings and re-format them around interactive and creative activities as well as vocational training so young people would have a central place to meet and gather after school -- and those currently not in school could also participate?
2) Remake Red Springs into an entrepreneurial economy. Under present economic conditions, and even before the Great Recession hit, Red Springs lacked many good, well-paying jobs. In the 21st economy, the traditional factory job is a thing of the past – and the skills one learned to succeed then are not enough and don’t match the job requirements of today. In fact, the reality is that many people must create their own livelihoods and supporting entrepreneurship is a viable economic development strategy in today’s economic climate.
When thinking about this, what community supports need to be in place for small businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed? The Red Springs community has access to the Small Business Center and entrepreneurship classes at RCC, and a near-by SCORE chapter for one-on-one business consultations and mentoring. A chamber of commerce is also active in Red Springs. Can the STEP leadership team partner with existing business support organizations and muster additional resources to create the conditions to support a culture of entrepreneurship in the community?
More is needed than individual technical support. Entrepreneurs must be nurtured and grown. Will the established business community welcome and nurture new businesses and help them succeed? Will young people be encouraged to start businesses and be given the advice, mentorship and resources for them to try out new ideas and grow their ventures? Are there business opportunities with nearby military installations that local businesses can capitalize on? The Rural Center’s Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship has a wealth of resources and experience to help communities develop a support system for entrepreneurs and is available for assistance if this is a strategy the Red Springs STEP leadership team wishes to pursue.
3) Establish a leadership pipeline for future community and business leaders. The group referenced the need to cultivate new leaders but it wasn’t fleshed out in detail.
4) Bring the “last mile” of high speed, fiber optic internet service to Red Springs.
Is downtown wireless? Can people and businesses access high speed internet connections affordably? Do students have access to high speed internet and state of the art computers, web tools and applications? The e-NC Authority is working on protocols to help communities bring broadband infrastructure to their citizens and businesses and has assigned a technical specialist to the Red Springs area. Like the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship, this organization is ready and willing to lend assistance. Adequate broadband infrastructure is not a luxury; it is a requirement for success and competitiveness in the 21st economy.
Regardless of what potential strategies are finally decided upon, several questions to always keep in mind are:
•What are the types of jobs that will be created with this strategy?
•Are the people in the community equipped with the necessary skills?
•Will the STEP leadership team and community see the strategy through to fruition?
The discussion also touched upon amenities and quality of life attributes that make a community an attractive location and a desirable place to live. Thus, cultural, educational and community development are also important for the town’s success. For example, improving recreational facilities and programs can be a key component to making the community more family-friendly and a more desirable location for people to live.
Red Springs’ vision statement and the several possible strategies touched upon above suggest a number of possible strategies for its economic development efforts. The town is poised to capitalize on its assets, overcome barriers and to reinvigorate itself, if it adopts appropriate strategies, develops relevant projects and pursues them with sufficient vigor and intensity.
WHAT’S TO FOLLOW:
Whatever specific projects the Leadership Team develops under each strategy, its first priority is to its current local citizens to better their circumstances for the long term, specifically improving the level of income and job capacity of the community. Local citizens, as members of the NC STEP Leadership Team, will be the ones to support and implement the economic development plan using the assets and resources the community currently possesses and muster others. Especially at the early stages of strategy implementation, most of the work will be done by the Leadership Team and members of the strategy subcommittees. As capacity builds and additional investments are made, more resources will be leveraged from inside and outside the community, but it must always be remembered that the community itself is ultimately responsible for the success of its efforts.
Once a consensus of the selected strategies among the STEP Leadership Team has been reached (scheduled for our May meeting), subcommittees will be formed under each strategic area. Co-chairs and subcommittee members will be identified and recruited, and a schedule established for the subcommittees to meet for the purpose of identifying and developing projects. Each subcommittee will meet on its own to complete its task. Project templates have been developed to help in this process and will be introduced once the leadership team has chosen its economic development strategies.
RED SPRINGS NC STEP LEADERSHIP TEAM
COMMUNITY BUILDING (CROSS ST.)
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011
6:30 – 8:30 P.M.
I. Welcome and Announcements – STEP Co-chair Willie Goodyear
v REDI Report – Johnny Robertson
II. Economic Development Strategies
Ø Consensus on Strategies – Strategy Discussion Paper
III. Strategy Subcommittee Structure
Ø Establish subcommittees
• Identify subcommittee chairs
• Identify members
• Expand to include additional community members
• Invite to next meeting for orientation and to begin project
development
Ø Draft strategy implementation statement – See “Framing Your Strategy”
IV. Adjourn – Next meeting date – Thursday, June 20, 2011
Minutes of STEP Meeting May 16, 2011 with Chilton Rogers
Respectfully submitted by Margie Labadie, Secretary
1.Willie Goodyear opened and welcomed new people.
2. Chilton began and everyone introduced themselves.
Chilton discussed Mission statement and Vision statement were passed around the
room
Annoucements :
A. Wastewater workshop / physical infrastructure
B. STEP Spring Training workshop will be in RS from 10-2 is full. SMALL Towns
Creating Opportunities. 3 New publications.
Living on the Margins:
Rural NC in the Aftermath of the Great Recession
Asset-building Strategies for the Low-income Families
A Guidebook for Connecting Individuals to Opportunity
Johnny report on REDI
1) Strategy Discussion Paper (SEE BELOW)
Consensus on Strategies
2) Framing Your Strategy
Strategic subcommittees
3) project development
Proposed Discussion...
1) Broadening Educational Opportunities - skill delivery in relevant & interesting ways.
Community Access. Library part of county system as of July.
2) Remake RS into an entrepreneurial economy - community supports already in place.
Use the Red Spring and market Red Springs.Hispanic mentors a focus of support. Kim,
ElectricCities and Chamber should be a part.
3) Leadership Pipeline
4) "Last Mile" broadband - Donna Sullivan e-NC
(Note: send community assessment to new people)
5) Expand philanthropy - NC Gives
6) Beautification & Aesthetics
Speakers:
Kim Pevia- Regional Coordinator, Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is about building upon lessons of the past. What do you want to do?
Vision is needed.
Jim Stella - ElectricCities, Retail Development Specialist
Share business ideas within the community. Get business plans together. Get
established businesses to support new businesses.
Mentors needed.
*Broadening Education
Jim Vaughn
MBL
Callie Smith
Frances Patterson
Anika
Kim P
*Remake Red Springs thru e-ship
Kim P
Bob M
Willie
Michelle
Eva
John mcN
Brandy
Caroline
Bob Mc
*L-ship
Kim
Margie
Willie
Chub
Tim H
Neil
Elma
*"last mile"
(e-NC)
John mcN
Chris
Chubb
Jimmy Melvin
*Aesthetics
Dale
Candace
Eva
Johnny
Michelle
* Philanthropy
Frances
Tim
Willie
Groups will meet and develop a strategy statement. To answer what this mean for RS.
Use Strategy Development - Framing your strategy. form. Final document should be
about 1/2 page long.
Group will meet June 9 & 16 @ 6 pm for dinner. Meeting starts at 6:30. We may have a
change of venue if Community room is booked.
During these meetings folks will develop strategies. Send completed strategy
documents to Margie/Johnny and we will forward to Chilton.
Chilton Will compile and bring to next monthly STEP meeting on June 20th which is a
MONDAY.
Only 3 more months until we finish!
----
FRAMING YOUR STRATEGY: FROM CHILTON ROGERS
Red Springs Strategy Discussion Paper
NC STEP Program
May 16, 2011
At the last Red Springs STEP Leadership Team meeting held on Monday, April 18th, 2011, discussion focused on two subjects: (1) Red Springs’ Community Assessment, especially the matrix of assets and constraints to growing and sustaining a local economy, and (2) strategy development. The Community Assessment is the second deliverable required by the NC Rural Center during the planning phase of the STEP program (the first being the Community Profile).
The Matrix of Assets and Constraints in the Red Springs Community Assessment was the springboard for brainstorming potential economic development strategies for the town. The team was asked to look for broad strategies and themes that stood out to them. What patterns did they see by matching the asset or constraint about their community with one or more of the “six paths to growing an economy?”
To think about the viability of potential strategies, several questions were put to the Leadership Team to consider as they discussed possibilities:
v What’s possible and/or doable for the town and the leadership team to accomplish?
v What are the opportunities presented by the strategy (i.e., what assets support it)?
v What are the weaknesses of it (i.e., what barriers constrain it)?
v Who is the target audience? (audiences)
v What are the goals of this strategy – what is it supposed to accomplish?
v If you were to move to Red Springs, what would you look for?
v What business support strategies make the most sense?
v What community development and civic engagement initiatives need to be in place or happen to reach your target audience(s)?
The following is a summary of the strategy identification discussion:
1) Concentrate on broadening educational opportunities in Red Springs for traditional and non-traditional students. Given that the graduation rate in Red Springs sits at 69% and that 21st century jobs require more and different educational attainment (plus computer literacy skills) for the community to be economically competitive, much discussion centered on skill delivery. That is, how can the young and/or unemployed people in the Red Springs area get the training they need to get or create a good job without being “turned off?”
Questions such as:
v What can the STEP leadership team do to help keep kids in school and graduate?
v What can the STEP leadership team do to help get those out of school retrained with the skills and/or certifications necessary for them to either get better jobs or create ones for themselves?
v To what degree does the community value education? How can this be improved?
Current delivery systems are not attractive nor do they have the equipment and resources necessary -- and young people want a place to go to hang out, learn, and access state of the art equipment and high speed internet connection. Robeson Community College (RCC), UNC-P, the K-12 school system, 4-H, NC REAL (Note: Is this available in Red Springs or through RCC?), and the Boys and Girls Club offer alternative educational opportunities in the Red Springs area, however, the offerings are not coordinated nor are they delivered in a format that young people like – or that seem relevant to them.
Could there be a central location where all these modalities intersect and the content is youth driven or directed? Could the STEP team coordinate offerings and re-format them around interactive and creative activities as well as vocational training so young people would have a central place to meet and gather after school -- and those currently not in school could also participate?
2) Remake Red Springs into an entrepreneurial economy. Under present economic conditions, and even before the Great Recession hit, Red Springs lacked many good, well-paying jobs. In the 21st economy, the traditional factory job is a thing of the past – and the skills one learned to succeed then are not enough and don’t match the job requirements of today. In fact, the reality is that many people must create their own livelihoods and supporting entrepreneurship is a viable economic development strategy in today’s economic climate.
When thinking about this, what community supports need to be in place for small businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed? The Red Springs community has access to the Small Business Center and entrepreneurship classes at RCC, and a near-by SCORE chapter for one-on-one business consultations and mentoring. A chamber of commerce is also active in Red Springs. Can the STEP leadership team partner with existing business support organizations and muster additional resources to create the conditions to support a culture of entrepreneurship in the community?
More is needed than individual technical support. Entrepreneurs must be nurtured and grown. Will the established business community welcome and nurture new businesses and help them succeed? Will young people be encouraged to start businesses and be given the advice, mentorship and resources for them to try out new ideas and grow their ventures? Are there business opportunities with nearby military installations that local businesses can capitalize on? The Rural Center’s Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship has a wealth of resources and experience to help communities develop a support system for entrepreneurs and is available for assistance if this is a strategy the Red Springs STEP leadership team wishes to pursue.
3) Establish a leadership pipeline for future community and business leaders. The group referenced the need to cultivate new leaders but it wasn’t fleshed out in detail.
4) Bring the “last mile” of high speed, fiber optic internet service to Red Springs.
Is downtown wireless? Can people and businesses access high speed internet connections affordably? Do students have access to high speed internet and state of the art computers, web tools and applications? The e-NC Authority is working on protocols to help communities bring broadband infrastructure to their citizens and businesses and has assigned a technical specialist to the Red Springs area. Like the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship, this organization is ready and willing to lend assistance. Adequate broadband infrastructure is not a luxury; it is a requirement for success and competitiveness in the 21st economy.
Regardless of what potential strategies are finally decided upon, several questions to always keep in mind are:
•What are the types of jobs that will be created with this strategy?
•Are the people in the community equipped with the necessary skills?
•Will the STEP leadership team and community see the strategy through to fruition?
The discussion also touched upon amenities and quality of life attributes that make a community an attractive location and a desirable place to live. Thus, cultural, educational and community development are also important for the town’s success. For example, improving recreational facilities and programs can be a key component to making the community more family-friendly and a more desirable location for people to live.
Red Springs’ vision statement and the several possible strategies touched upon above suggest a number of possible strategies for its economic development efforts. The town is poised to capitalize on its assets, overcome barriers and to reinvigorate itself, if it adopts appropriate strategies, develops relevant projects and pursues them with sufficient vigor and intensity.
WHAT’S TO FOLLOW:
Whatever specific projects the Leadership Team develops under each strategy, its first priority is to its current local citizens to better their circumstances for the long term, specifically improving the level of income and job capacity of the community. Local citizens, as members of the NC STEP Leadership Team, will be the ones to support and implement the economic development plan using the assets and resources the community currently possesses and muster others. Especially at the early stages of strategy implementation, most of the work will be done by the Leadership Team and members of the strategy subcommittees. As capacity builds and additional investments are made, more resources will be leveraged from inside and outside the community, but it must always be remembered that the community itself is ultimately responsible for the success of its efforts.
Once a consensus of the selected strategies among the STEP Leadership Team has been reached (scheduled for our May meeting), subcommittees will be formed under each strategic area. Co-chairs and subcommittee members will be identified and recruited, and a schedule established for the subcommittees to meet for the purpose of identifying and developing projects. Each subcommittee will meet on its own to complete its task. Project templates have been developed to help in this process and will be introduced once the leadership team has chosen its economic development strategies.
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