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Renewing the Countryside Newsletter
April/May 2007
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In This Issue
-- This Month's Featured Stories
-- RTC News Flash
-- Resource Pick: Robyn Van En Center
-- Business Partner Pick of the Month: Wedge Co-op -- What We're Reading: Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference by Wanda Urbanska & Frank Levering -- Conference Picks: Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) -- Where We're Going: Lanesboro Feed Mill (Lanesboro, MN) -- What Does RTC Do?
Welcome to the April/May Renewing the Countryside newsletter, designed to provide a monthly toolbox of resources, ideas and inspiration for your own efforts and interests in rural revitalization.
Thank you for your continued support of Renewing the Countryside. Jan Joannides, Executive Director |
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This Month's Featured Stories --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whipstone Farm
Paulden, AZ Having cleaned chimneys for much of his life, Cory Rade decided about ten years ago to mix things up a bit and try farming. He was unfazed by the fact that he and his family had very little farming experience. Today, as he talks about how he came to love being a farmer, Cory retains some of the archetypal chimney sweep's good nature - a sparkle in his eye, excitement in his voice - as he describes how they learned to handle the soil on Whipstone Farm, north of Chino Valley, Arizona, and how he lives and works there today with his partner, Shanti Leinow. Their story is featured in the RTC book: A New Plateau: Sustaining the Lands and Peoples of Canyon County. For more information on the book...
Showcase West Virginia
Betty Rivard has been a photographer all her life, but she really began to get serious about her art after she retired from her job as a state social worker in West Virginia. "My goal is to show the beauty and individuality of the everyday scene in West Virginia," Betty says of her work. Betty's photography has been part of an entrepreneurial journey that began in 2000, when she was one of 20 West Virginia artists invited to participate in a pilot entrepreneurial program developed by the Center for Economic Options (CEO). CEO, a statewide non-profit that has worked in microenterprise development for almost 20 years, wanted to assist and support artistic and artisan microbusinesses within the state, so they decided to underwrite Showcase West Virginia, a small store in the Charleston Town Center, the city's largest retail venue and mall. The store featured the work of the 20 artists, representing the microbusiness efforts of West Virginia artists. |
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RTC News Flash --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christy James Joins RTC Staff
Already a familiar face at RTC, Christy James now joins RTC officially as Director of Community Initiatives. Having worked with RTC on various projects, including sowing the seeds for and helping to launch Green Routes, RTC welcomes Christy to our organization. Christy brings a depth of experience and enthusiasm for rural revitalization and entrepreneur development to RTC. Previously, she has worked with Minnesota Rural Partners, the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and also serves as the interim director of AMME (Alliance for Minnesota Microenterprise). In addition to her professional work, Christy is an active volunteer in her community and serves on the board of a high adventure camp that works with at risk youth. She has a passion for traveling off the beaten track and finding unique, quaint and quirky locations. She is a silent sports enthusiast and lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband Randy, three canoes and a kayak. RTC Wins Web Award The Renewing the Countryside website has been selected to receive a 2007 Dot.Org Honorable Mention. Sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, this award was presented at Tech Tools 2.0, a conference providing a technology overview and resources and tools to help nonprofits utilize new technology trends to create effective communications to reach and engage their audience. Click here for more information on the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. New Green Routes Summer Blast Off Initiatives Support a rural community - travel Green Routes! Just in time for the summer travel season, Green Routes is launching the "What I did this summer" pledge. We are asking everyone who travels in Minnesota to make a pledge to visit 5 Green Routes destinations (which can be found on the Green Routes website). Send us an email and we'll mail (or email you) the Travelogue - a handy card to record your visits. Those who keep their pledge will receive a thank you gift. Help us reach our goal of 500 pledges by June 1! Be sure to check out the new Tatanka Bluffs Green Routes which includes great places to eat, play, learn and sleep in Redwood and Renville Counties. Click here for more information on Green Routes.
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Resource Pick: Robyn Van En Center ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based at Wilson College in Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, the Robyn Van En Center provides a
national resource center about Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA) for people both across
the nation and around the world. Acknowledged with
starting the first CSA in the United States in 1985,
Robyn Van En's tireless efforts helped lead to the
Center's many resources, including a comprehensive
on-line database of CSAs.
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Business Partner Pick of the Month: Wedge Co-op --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since 1974, The Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis has
led the cooperative and natural food grocery store
movement in this country. The first certified organic
store in Minnesota, the Wedge Co-op created many
innovative initatives including their own Fair Trade
Program and Wedge Worldwide, an on-line branch of
the member-owned brick and mortar store. The
Wedge is a founding partner with RTC in the Healthy
Local Foods exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair's
EcoExperience.
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What We're Reading: Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference by Wanda Urbanska & Frank Levering --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference" shares
life-lessons from the personal experiences of
Urbanska and Levering moving from fast-paced Los
Angeles to running a Virginina cherry orchard, along
with advice and experiences from others within the
simplicity movement. A companion to the PBS series
"Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska," this book
challenges the assumption that one person taking
one action can't make a difference.
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Conference Picks: Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RTC Executive Director Jan Joannides will be
presenting at the Association for Enterprise
Opportunity (AEO) Annual Conference in
Kansas City, Missouri, on May 15-18, 2007.
This AEO gathering is the leading
conference for microenterprise development
professionals, providing opportunities to share
experiences, learn from the success of others,
and learn about the latest tools and strategies to
support
U.S. entrepreneurs.
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Where We're Going: Lanesboro Feed Mill (Lanesboro, MN) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An inspiration for small town revitalization,
Lanesboro Feed Mill provides one-stop lodging,
retail and event facilities in a restored 1885 feed mill.
Located in Lanesboro, Minnesota, and lovingly
restored by the Lamon-Mortimer family in 1999, this
building now houses the luxury Stone Mill Suites
B&B, an eclectic retail shop called Tours &
Treasures and an event center that can
accommodate
and cater receptions and meetings. RTC recently
held one
of our Green Business workshops in this great
location.
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What Does RTC Do? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renewing the Countryside is a 501(c)3 non-profit
that strengthens rural areas by championing and
supporting farmers, artists, entrepreneurs,
educators, activists, and others who are
revitalizing the countryside through innovative
endeavors. We build awareness and support for these
initiatives by collecting and sharing stories of
rural renewal, providing practical assistance and
networking opportunities for those working to
improve rural America, and fostering connections
between urban and rural people.
As always, you can support our work by making an online donation or purchasing books from the Renewing the Countryside store. We're grateful to the Beim Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Emma B. Howe Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation, the Bush Foundation, The Brico Fund and North Central SARE, for contributing to our work. Find out more about Renewing the Countryside .
Please consider a contribution to Renewing the Countryside's work. |
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Contact Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
email:
info@rtcinfo.org
phone:
1-866-378-0587
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