ED-Central


In This Issue


The Texas Rural Innovators Forum has announced a Fall program that includes two rural issues forums and a community development workshop.



At the end of July the annual Texas Main Street Summer Workshop was held in the city of Sonora. Main Street Program managers from 48 cities arrived in the vibrant West Texas town to enjoy three days filled with training and activities.



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Meetings feature state and national leaders on rural policy

The Texas Rural Innovators Forum has announced a Fall program that includes two rural issues forums and a community development workshop. The Texas Rural Innovators Forum or “TRIF” brings leading state and national speakers to Central Texas to share ideas and innovations with rural Texans. Local elected and volunteer leaders in all fields are invited to participate.

On October 15, three Texas experts will consider what higher energy costs mean for rural Texas. “On the one hand, rural people drive more and the cost of virtually every agricultural input, from fertilizer to irrigation gas – has soared,” says Mike Williams, President of Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. “On the other hand, there is a real boom in wind energy and biomass, not to mention traditional oil and gas. Nobody knows quite where the balance will be,” Williams says.

Debating whether rural Texas will “sink or soar” with higher energy prices will be noted economic forecaster Dr. Ray Perryman of the Perryman Group in Waco and Pat Wood, the state and nation’s former top electric utility regulator. Rounding out the expert group is former Congressman Charlie Stenholm of Stamford, Texas and Washington, D.C. In over thirty years on Capitol Hill, Congressman Stenholm served on and was ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee; he brings an in-depth understanding of energy, agriculture and other rural issues.

A panel of local leaders will respond to the experts, bringing their own observations to the debate. They include the city administrator of Nacogdoches, the director of Institutional Advancement at Howard College in Big Spring, director of the Coastal Bend Council of Governments, and director of the Wood County Electric Coop.

“We like to keep things grounded at the Forums,” said Bobby Gierisch, Forum coordinator, “and there’s no better way than to hear from people in the field, dealing with the realities of higher fuel and power costs on their institutions as well as their own families and neighbors.”

On November 18, distinguished rural legislators will discuss issues that will take center stage in the legislative session that convenes in January, 2009. “In January the rubber meets the road,” said State Representative Warren Chisum of Pampa. “Rural, urban and suburban interests all vie for attention to their needs, and we want to be sure rural is not left behind.”

Chisum is chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He will be joined by State Representatives Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, Jim McReynolds of Lufkin, with others pending.

Dr. Chuck Fluharty of the Rural Policy Research Institute and the German Marshall Fund will discuss national rural priorities; and Jerry Nagel of Northern Great Plains, Inc. will talk about his organization’s experiences “starting productive conversations” in communities.

On December 2, the Texas Rural Innovators Forum will host “Clues to Rural Community Survival,” a one-day workshop in Fredericksburg. The workshop will draw on twenty years of study and experience of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, a Nebraska-based non-profit that works with over 2500 leaders in over 300 communities each year.

“If you want to know why some communities thrive and others don’t, these are the people with the answers,” says Gierisch. “And their answers are based on decades of work in the field.”

“This will be a hands-on, very interactive workshop for community leaders and people who just want to see their efforts be more productive,” says Vicki Luther, co-founder of the Heartland Center and resident of Kerrville. Participants will get training they can put to use immediately in their home towns. The registration fee includes a workbook, a copy of the Heartland Center’s new edition of Clues to Rural Community Survival, lunch and breaks.

The goal of the Texas Rural Innovators Forum is to bring the leaders of rural Texas into personal contact with spokespeople from the most successful and innovative rural development programs in America, and to bring leaders of rural Texas together with one another to share their own energy and ideas for improvement. For more information on TRIF or the Fall programs, see www.ruraltx.org or call 512-499-8948.







At the end of July the annual Texas Main Street Summer Workshop was held in the city of Sonora. Main Street Program managers from 48 cities arrived in the vibrant West Texas town to enjoy three days filled with training and activities.

The managers spent their days learning about historic preservation, the economics of downtown, and a variety of other topics. In addition to training sessions, local business leaders spoke about getting name-brand hotels, owning a restaurant, and economic development.

While not in training, the Main Street managers and their families were treated to the sites in and around Sonora. Tours of Eaton Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, the Caverns of Sonora, historic downtown, Fort McKavett State Historic Site, and a ranch filled with exotic and native wildlife provided a unique experience.

The workshop was a great success due to the efforts of the Sonora Main Street Program as well as the community of Sonora. For more information on the Texas Main Street Program, visit the Texas Historical Commission website at www.thc.state.tx.us.







Host an Event

If your community is given the opportunity to host an event, take it. Use that opportunity to showcase all that your town has to offer. Think of what makes your town special. A unique natural setting, a fascinating history, one-of-a-kind shops, or mom-and-pop restaurants are all things that visitors love to experience. Don’t be afraid to host an event and share those things with them.