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Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
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Achieving Excellence
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Dedicated to Helping Communities and Businesses Achieve Excellence
February, 2014
Greetings!

Please put these four items on your "To Do" list: (1) resubscribe to TCRE to get our emails related to community, economic, and business development; (2) complete our 2 minute survey and receive a free webinar registration; (3) take advantage of our online community pre-planning survey introductory offer to learn what residents think about your community; and (4) review materials related to Achieving Excellence in Your Community on the TCRE web site.
Renew Your Subscription NOW and receive a valuable offer!

If you want to continue receiving notices about educational opportunities, technical assistance, tools, best practices and other information related to community, economic and business development, please renew your free subscription to TCRE.  

Use the following link to subscribe to either one or both of the lists that represent our two major client groups: Communities and Businesses

Subscribe now so you don't miss any valuable material and some special offers that will be distributed to our clientele.  We also encourage you to take an active role by submitting questions, requests, suggestions and any other comments using our 
Is your community achieving excellence?

If you could change just one thing about your community that would make it better tomorrow than it is today, what would that be? What is keeping your community from getting that done?
 
We have asked these questions at a number of workshops and have gotten a wide variety of responses.  Here is your opportunity to help us develop a top 10 list of what needs to be done to help rural communities achieve excellence. 
 
Please take 2 minutes out of your busy schedule to share with us your suggested change that will move your community towards excellence.  Those completing this short survey will receive a coupon for a free webinar on a community, economic or business development topic of your choice.  
What do residents think about your community?
 
What is it worth to know what residents think about your community?  TCRE has an online survey that provides an opportunity for people living and working in your community to respond to the following questions:
  • Why are you here?
  • What keeps you here?
  • What are you proud of?
  • What are you disappointed in?
  • What would make you leave?
  • What should we do better?

Communities that have gotten a broad cross section of people to complete this survey find it is invaluable when developing a plan for Achieving Excellence.  

 

During the month of February we are offering a $100 discount (off the original price of $500) on a customized online survey for your community.  

 

If you are interested in this online survey opportunity, please submit a Survey Request form and we will contact you with more information and further instructions.  

Achieving Excellence in Your Community program

(LINK TO DIAGRAM AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS)  

A series of workshops, development tools and best practices are integrated into a comprehensive program that is designed to put communities on their self-designed path towards excellence and sustainability.  Click on each item in the diagram and find out more details.  Contact us if you are interested in any of these programs.  

 

Program of the Month: Ten Best Practices for Effective Board Operations - 

If you serve on a board of directors or you get the directions for your work from a board then this workshop is a must for you.  Even if your organization or company has a clear vision and you are moving towards making that vision a reality, topics covered in this workshop will help you reach your goals quicker and more efficiently. 

 

This high energy three-hour interactive workshop covers topics such as responsibility vs. accountability, policies and procedures, legal implications, planning and board evaluation.  You will take home several tools for your board toolkit along with ten best practices for board success.

 

Email us (greg@tcre.org) today so we can make arrangements to offer this workshop exclusively for members of your community or to bring it to your region as an open enrollment workshop.

Summary
 
Our work with a number of rural communities and businesses across Texas, other states and even internationally has shown us that no two communities or businesses are exactly alike.  There may be some similarities in characteristics, challenges and opportunities. However we still treat each client community or business as an individual focusing on what makes them unique. 
 
Assessments help determine a baseline or starting point, a prioritized plan plots a path to achieving excellence and accountability measures determine progress.  We value opportunities to develop long term relationships that allow us to share programs, technical assistance and tools that will have a significant positive impact on our clients.
 
TCRE has considerable capacity and value to offer communities and businesses across Texas and the U.S. Our challenge now is identifying community leaders and business owners that want to achieve excellence by leveraging all that TCRE has to offer.  Continued development and refinement of processes, operations and methods is also the order of the day.  We hope you will join in the journey and become engaged with us through a variety of news outlets, social media and other collaborative relationships.

Sincerely,

 


Greg Clary
Executive Director
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