COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TO REDUCE POVERTY
Submitted by Todd Cameron.
When it comes to creating a thriving community, community members themselves are the key to success. Over the past six months, many citizens in the community have participated in the Horizons Program. What is Horizons? Horizons is a community-based initiative sponsored and supported by the University of Minnesota Extension Service. The program happens in five phases.
•Showcase – A one day overview of the program.
•Study Circles – Groups of citizens that discussed poverty and a plan for community action.
•LeadershipPlenty – Community members received nine sessions of leadership training.
•Strategic Visioning – Neighbors and community members will come together to prioritize the next steps.
•Action – With help from Horizons, vision will become reality.
COMMUNITY/STRATEGIC VISIONING
When: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Where: NYM Public School
Time: 5:00 – 6:00 pm – Free Meal
6:00 pm Horizons Program - Auditorium
Purpose: Community Visioning
Note: NYM Jazz Band will be performing during the meal.
University of Minnesota Extension Service through the Horizons program have invited motivational speaker Mr. David Beurle all the way from Australia to make a presentation on community leadership and to lead New York Mills in a community visioning session on Saturday, October 26th. Mr. Buerle provides hands-on services and approaches, from community economic development projects, to speaking engagements, entrepreneurial development, and leadership programs.
David holds a firm conviction that the future of rural and regional areas, lies in the hands of the local people. He created Innovative Leadership Australia, with the mission of bringing the tools and skills to the people who care the most - the people who choose to make rural towns, centers and regions their home. He has a passion for rural life; having been raised on a farm and having worked all his life in, and with, rural communities. His career has covered a wide range of experiences - from working for many years in the remotest parts of northern Australia, where cattle ranches are often over 1 million acres; to working at the highest levels of Government, with 8 years as the ‘right-hand man’ to a senior Australian Cabinet Minster; the WA Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. This also included a short diversion as the producer of a pilot TV series that explored and showcased innovation in rural areas.
David’s experience covers a similar breadth; from working on the ground with farmers and Aboriginal communities; to building international trade relations and strategic alliances between Australian farmers and their markets in Egypt, China, India and Europe.
For more information you can Todd Cameron at the New York Mills Public School (385-4201).