Community Stewardship Initiatives

A few years back, staff at the HRDC attended an EDA Forum in Washington DC. Through the forum and our past experience, our focus shifted to creating collective, strategic, sustained civic effort. Recognizing the realities of the regional economy and issues, we believed strongly a new leadership model that blurred the lines between public and private or governing jurisdictions was important to move forward.

Our response has been to develop stewards' councils through which to help communities position themselves to succeed in the future. Beginning in Bemidji (Bemidji Leads!) and spreading to Park Rapids (Progress Park Rapids) and Mahnomen (Seventh Generation Initiative), the results have been stunning. More information on the projects follows.

Bemidji Leads!

The HRDC undertook an ambitious fifteen month effort to strategically position the Bemidji community to compete in the future. The objectives of this effort were three-fold:

• To forge agreement among a broad spectrum of the Bemidji community on a bold, compelling strategic direction for the area
• To identify specific critical issues, strategic initiatives to address those issues and to move toward that future
• To develop and nurture a broad-based leadership council for the area that can be effective at realizing the community strategic direction

Bemidji Leads!' stewards worked for over a year on Bemidji's destiny. But this wasn't a group of leaders making community choices in a vacuum. Rather, they listened very carefully to the values and aspirations of community members. Public gathering, organizational meetings, and a community perception survey were all utilized to gauge what makes the Bemidji community tick.

From that information, the following destiny was created:

Through intentional, collective action, Bemidji will be:

• a healthy community, successfully balancing regional center amenities and small town beauty and character;
• a vibrant economic center recognized for its innovation, creativity and knowledge;
• a social, cultural, recreational and educational magnet;
• an embracing, culturally diverse community
• a people committed to shared prosperity and long-term community stewardship; and
• the star of the north, a national model of community success.

Once the community defined the destiny, the stewards quickly shifted into a new phase...acting on the destiny. They determined there were 17 critical areas, called destiny drivers, that the Bemidji area needed to address in order for this community to reach its dreams. Among the destiny drivers are:

• Bemidji will plant 10,000 trees a year for the next 10 years.
• By 2015, the performance of our students (PK-16) will rank in the top five in the state.
• There will be a multi-purpose event center in Bemidji by 2008.
• Bemidji will have the state's best trail network by 2015.
• Bemidji will have the lowest incidence of drug and alcohol abuse in the state by 2015.

The destiny drivers chosen are bold and compelling...and can only be accomplished by the entire community-public and private-coming together and working together.

To stress the need to work together, Bemidji Leads! hosted an "Interdependence Day" celebration in 2005 where organizations and individuals came together and signed a "Declaration of Interdependence". It was an overt embracing of the need to align resources, act together and make choices focused on the common good.

Over the past year, the momentum has been strong. The activity and leadership in Bemidji has been significant. Overall, hundreds of leaders are presently involved in efforts to build a successful Bemidji. Some of the major accomplishments that have occurred include:

• Over 100 volunteers of the community came together behind a single legislative agenda and held a Bemidji Day at the State Capital in St. Paul (5 hours from Bemidji). As a result, the State Legislature committed $3 million in funding to kick off the development of a regional events center (as a result of much local backing and activity);
• In November, residents of Bemidji voted to continue a one-half percent sales tax, with proceeds contributing to the Events Center Funding;
• Bemidji Green Up! has been planting 10,000 trees per year;
• Beltrami County completed a county-wide trails plan, and the city is completing major park and trail improvements;
• A Bemidji Education Council has been formed to discuss ways to work together for greater achievement for Bemidji students;
• The Downtown Development Authority has completed a downtown revitalization plan;
• The Downtown Development Authority has also submitted to the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development a Pre-Application for CDBG Funds to renovate downtown commercial / residential buildings.

In February, Minnesota's Governor Pawlenty honored Bemidji Leads! as a part of his Bemidji Day Celebration.

The efforts of the Bemidji Leads! Initiative will continue to be strong. Each destiny driver has a list of specific activities that need to occur, and the coming year will see continue implementation of these activities by hundreds of community leaders.

To keep informed of Bemidji Leads! events, please visit their website at www.bemidjileads.com.

Seventh Generation Initiative

The HRDC is proud to be a part of an exciting three-year effort initiated by leaders in the greater White Earth-Mahnomen area. This initiative is designed to help the community address the following challenges, similar to those confronted by nearly all other communities in rural Minnesota:

• A need to re-energize existing leaders and nurture emerging leaders.
• A need to get on the same page and to find a way to work together.
• A need to sustain action.

This initiative is grounded in two themes: the importance of community-minded leaders and the imperative of working together.

The following guiding principles serve as a foundation for the effort:

• Community success is in the hands of community.
• Stewards, working together, are critical.
• Agreement on a future vision is necessary.
• Real progress is necessary.
• Outstanding staff work is very important.

The overall goals that have been established for the project include:

• Help the community agree on one common future
• Change the community culture to one that values, and is good at, working together
• Grow the number of leaders that will come forward to create a better future for all
• Accomplish real stuff!

Through this initiative, significant progress has been made, including the following achievements:

• The first annual Community-wide Celebration of Stewardship;
• A website has been developed and is now fully operational. The website is intended to grow leadership;
• A committee has been established to address the high level of illegal drug use in the community, with a goal of 50% reduction by 2010;
• The wellness committee continues to work towards its goals. Grant funds have been received through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation to support wellness planning activities;
• A committee is working to build an Assisted Living Facility in Mahnomen;
• A committee has been formed to assist the Community College and Tribal College to join forces to build a new campus, with a goal of being fully accredited by 2010;
• The education committee has found a very high correlation between students Grad Point Average and their rate of school attendance and, as a result, is working on developing a "zero tolerance" strategy to address the high rate of absenteeism in the school.

To keep informed of Seventh Generation events, please visit their website at www.mahnomen7gen.com.

Progress Park Rapids

Progress Park Rapids has created quite a stir in the community since its kick-off community celebration.

Progress Park Rapids kicked off its efforts in January of 2005 with 100 people coming together in a community discussion. They came together to learn about Progress Park Rapids and to be challenged to be stewards of the park Rapids community. And the Park Rapids community has responded.

Progress Park Rapids is an effort by a group of stewards to move the community forward. The charter of Progress Park Rapids is clear:

"The Progress Park Rapids stewards group is diverse group of over 20 community members committed to the long-term well being of the greater Park Rapids community. We exist to create the environment for the greater Park Rapids community to succeed. We will accomplish this by:

• Engaging the greater Park Rapids community to collectively define its desired future;
• Identifying strategies and action steps that ensure progress toward being a successful community; and
• Being the long-term place for ideas to land and be nurtured that lead the greater Park Rapids community forward.

We are committed to acting as stewards of the greater community not only within the stewards group but in the organizations and projects we serve as well. This means we represent the greater good over our own personal interest or agenda. We sill work together and challenge the Park Rapids community to do the same."

In order to learn about the future that people desire for their community, Progress Park Rapids listened carefully to the citizens of the broader area. The stewards made presentations to, and held discussions with, over 25 community groups.

The stewards also implemented a community perception survey. Available online, in the Park Rapids Enterprise and at local sites, the survey sought to gauge how the Park Rapids community is doing in the eyes of its own residents. Nearly 800 community residents completed the survey!

What did it find? The general themes that emerged included:

1. We are OK. Community members seem satisfied with a B- or a C+. The stewards question whether the community needs to increase its own expectations of itself.
2. There is a prevailing concern about what's next for the community. As the area grows, there is an uncertainty about what is "behind door 3" in the future. There is this general sense that the community is slipping away from its residents.
3. There is a clear acknowledgement that leadership is needed from progress Park Rapids to help the community work together and define the community's destiny.

In addition, issues emerged in the following areas: public safety (with an overwhelming concern with illegal drug use), education, community center, growth issues and economic development.

Over the past year and a half, Progress Park Rapids has made major strides. Outcomes achieved to date include:

• Created a 20 member stewards council with a cross-section of community leaders.
• Developed a charter to serve as the guiding force for the Council's actions and efforts.
• Published a number of opinion columns in the Park Rapids Enterprise on the progress of the effort.
• Developed community goal statements for the five key issues areas (education, community center, growth issues, public safety and economic development).
• Created an action team of community members to move the community forward on each key issue.
• Held a stewards retreat, and utilizing all the information that was gathered, including the survey, the open houses, the organizational meetings and the listening sessions, developed the destiny statement.
• Following the retreat, the stewards defined a series of 18 community goals. Additionally, they defined a lead implementing organization for each goal, as well as Progress Park Rapids' role in advancing each goal.
• Developed a plan for public engagement in order to publicly release the destiny and goals, and see advice and input from community members.

To date, between the stewards' council, the community forums and the action teams, some 250 people in the Park Rapids area have become engaged in moving the Park Rapids' community forward through Progress Park Rapids.

To keep informed of Progress Park Rapids events, please visit their website at www.progressparkrapids.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOUR COMMUNITY CAN PARTICIPATE IN A STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE, PLEASE GO TO THE Center for Community Stewardship WEBPAGE.