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 News from the Heartland Center
Among the many values we have cherished over the years at
the Heartland Center has been our commitment to innovation in community
development policy and practice. One way
we are doing that this year is through the Midwest Rural Assembly (MRA), which
we are co-hosting in August in South Sioux City, Nebraska. This is the second annual gathering of MRA,
an outgrowth of the National Rural Assembly, which Co-Director Milan Wall
attended a couple of years ago in Washington, D.C. Milan is a member of the Steering and Program
Committees for the 2010 event, as is Dr. Cornelia Flora, a long-time Heartland
Center board member who is a  professor of sociology at Iowa State
University. More detail about the
Assembly, including information on registration, is found in this issue. On behalf of the staff and board of the
Heartland Center, we invite you to attend and contribute to this lively and
informative discussion about growing prosperity in rural communities throughout
our region.
--Milan Wall & Vicki Luther, Founders and Co-Directors
Heartland Center for Leadership Development
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An Invitation to the 2010 Midwest Rural Assembly: Growing Rural Prosperity
Last year 170 policymakers, rural community leaders, and rural development practitioners gathered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to launch the Midwest Rural Assembly (MRA) and its associated network. This year we are meeting in South Sioux City, Nebraska, on August 16-17, 2010, to focus on rural community prosperity in our region.
Rural America is in transition. Increasing demand for local food, renewable energy, and bio-based products are providing new opportunities for rural areas. Expansion of broadband and other technologies and an increasingly diverse population are eliminating many obstacles that formerly hindered rural development. Last year's Assembly highlighted many innovative approaches for building rural prosperity. And we brought together community leaders working to turn creative ideas into concrete action. For example, one group that emerged from last year's MRA started a new rural teacher education program. We will see more partnerships launched this year.
The MRA brings together community leaders and local, regional and national policy makers from a multi-state area to work toward a sustainable, healthy and wealthy rural Midwest through regional cooperation and policy development. MRA participants will take action on education, natural resources, health care, and investment, with a focus on green jobs; clean energy solutions; attracting and retaining medical professionals, teachers, and entrepreneurs; developing local food systems; connecting immigrants to economic opportunities; successful community development; and addressing infrastructure needs.
At the 2010 Midwest Rural Assembly participants will:
- Meet other rural leaders from throughout the region and welcome new voices.
- Share effective community solutions and inform supportive public policies.
- Take action to move their rural development priorities forward.
- Help build an effective regional network committed to building rural prosperity.
The 2010 Midwest Rural Assembly will be held at the Marina Inn Conference Center, centrally located in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Rooms are being held at the special Assembly rate of $75 per night through August 2, 2010. Contact the Marina Inn (marina-inn.com) toll-free at (800) 798-7980 to book lodging.
For information on conference registration, sponsorship, speakers, topical sessions, exhibits, and more, contact midwestruralassembly@iatp.org or call (612) 870-3429. Information is also available on the MRA website at
www.midwestruralassembly.org.
Your voice is important to us and to the future of the rural Midwest. We look forward to seeing you this summer at the second annual Midwest Rural Assembly!
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The Heartland Center is Now Taking Registrations for the Summer Webinar Series on Developing Community Leadership and Board Effectiveness
The
Heartland Center for Leadership Development is now taking registrations for our
new Leadership Development and Board Effectiveness webinar series. These five webinars on developing community
leadership and building board member capacity will begin in June and conclude
in October, 2010. Each webinar will be designed to provide interaction,
discussion and feedback. Webinar participants will receive a packet of
downloadable training materials that include session powerpoints and readings.
Registrants will also be able to view the webinar via recording, so you can
refresh your learning experience at any time. Webinars will last 60 minutes and
will be hosted by an experienced team of Heartland Center trainers. This
summer's topics include:
- June 22, 2010, Leadership Styles and Practices: Learn what it means to be an
effective leader. Assess your own leadership strengths and aspirations and
create an action plan for building new skills and practices.
- July 13, 2010, Working with Groups: Managing effective meetings may seem
simple, yet it's often a challenging job for community development
practitioners, whose role includes leading diverse groups to consensus and
beyond.
- August 24, 2010, Engaging the Community: Outlines practical strategies for
strengthening your organization through community
participation and volunteerism. Once a project is off the ground and you
have enough people engaged, this session will also help you maintain momentum.
- September 14, 2010, Stewardship Essentials:
Explains the essential concepts of board stewardship and how
stewardship applies to the board's role in interpreting and updating an
organization's mission, strategy development, evaluation, resource
development and being an effective emissary.
- October 19, 2010, Governance Effectiveness: Provides
an introduction to tools, techniques and processes that effective
boards use to plan and manage their meetings, document their
decision-making, successfully navigate conflict, recruit and orient new
members to board service. The webinar will also help clarify the dual
governance roles of staff and board for developing organizational
strategies and documenting progress.
For more details and registration information about this exciting webinar
series, please visit the Heartland Center's webinar page. You can also contact Kurt Mantonya for additional information. |
Summer Scholarship Drive
The Heartland Center has, for 23 years, helped rural communities, urban neighborhoods, associations and other organizations develop local leadership, respond to community priorities and foster public participation through civic engagement.
We've stayed on mission: Helping community leaders of today
face the challenges of the future. We've collected case studies of successful
small towns in Clues to Community Survival. We've developed training programs such as Helping Small Towns Succeed.
We've completed curriculua for groups as diverse as the Ford Family Foundation
in Oregon and
the Federal Home Loan bank of Pittsburgh.
We've been part of creating the exciting new HomeTown Competitiveness approach. Over the years, we've helped to organized hundreds of town hall meetings all
over the United States,
to help small towns plan for the future. We have also worked with planning departments boost public participation.
While our staff numbers have remained small, we've found
many skilled and valued associates across the country to help with the
development and delivery of programs. But most importantly, we've found that
the participants in our programs are leaders who genuinely
want to take care of their own communities and learn more and better ways to do
that job.
During June through August, we are seeking to increase our
scholarship fund to help those leaders learn and prepare to face the
challenges of the future. Your donation will help support scholarships to offset fees for participants at Helping Small Towns Succeed, attend Great Neighborhoods! and participate in our thematic webinar series. We can assure you that any gift you make is 100% tax deductible and will be
used only for scholarship funds. No administration or any other costs will be
paid with your contribution. To make a contribution, visit our secure donate page. You can also contact Kurt Mantonya for additional information.
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 On the Calendar at the
Heartland Center
June 2010
- Milan and Heartland Center Board President Craig Schroeder will be attending a convening in Moline, Illinois on innovative rural development programs.
- The Heartland Center's first Summer Webinar Series on Leadership Styles and Practices will take place.
- Milan
and Senior Associate Kurt Mantonya will be attending the Community
Development Society's International Annual Conference in New Orleans,
Louisiana.
- The Heartland Center's second Summer Webinar Series on Working with Groups will take place.
- Milan and Kurt will be attending the Midwest Rural Assembly in South Sioux City, Nebraska.
- The Heartland Center's third Summer Webinar Series on Engaging the Community will take place.
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About the Heartland Center
The
Heartland Center for Leadership Development is an independent nonprofit
organization developing local leadership that responds to the
challenges of the future. The Heartland Center is headquartered in
Lincoln, Nebraska with a field office located in Kerrville, Texas.
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