Season's Greetings from the Heartland Center
 | | Milan Wall |
2010 was a year of change for the Heartland Center. During the winter of 2010, we "kicked off" our first series of webinars, offered jointly with our colleagues at the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. We realized the value in webinars as we attracted people from Alaska to Mississippi and Texas to Maine. The response from that first series encouraged us to press on with a second series that started in June. Another series will start in early 2011.
Another significant change was the publication of a new edition of the Heartland Center classic, Clues to Rural Community Survival. Clues offers a series of case studies of small towns throughout the country that are thriving despite difficult circumstances. These case studies were updated to include new, additional information about the towns and the various themes for their success. New communities have also been incorporated, and for the first time, communities in Indian Country are represented.
You might also notice three key words at the top of this newsletter. These words have become part of the Center's new motto, reflecting our commitment to thriving communities and sustainable leadership capacity.
A final major change is that the Center has moved its office to a new location here in Lincoln, Nebraska. We are still settling in and unpacking a few boxes but are enjoying our larger accommodations. Our phone number remains the same and our address information can be found at the end of this newsletter.
2010 Year in Review
- Community assessment work and strategic planning in Henderson, Nebraska
- Webinar series on "Strategies for Community Prosperity"
- Webinar series on "Leadership Development and Board Effectiveness"
- Continuation of work with communities in Nebraska and Kansas with funding from the USDA
- Convenings of rural development practitioners with support of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
- Attendance, presentations and leadership in numerous national conferences as well as keynote addresses in Canada
- Continued collaboration with our partners and communities with HomeTown Competitiveness
- North Central Region convening of USDA Rural Development state directors
- Webinar series for NOSORH, a national rural health organization
- Strategic planning and facilitation for other organizations using "Appreciative Inquiry"
--Milan Wall and Vicki Luther, Co-Directors
 | | Vicki Luther |
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