A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News October 1, 2007 - Initiative gains national recognition By: Connie Loden, for the Daily Tribune Community serves as a model for others to follow The Heart of Wisconsin area continues to gain national recognition as an innovative, progressive community due to the Community Progress Initiative, a joint initiative between the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance and the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County. With the success of community engagement involved in the Community Progress Initiative and the resulting outcomes generated across the community, the area is being looked to as a best practice resource for other communities to learn how to apply sound community economic development principles based in a systems framework to revitalize communities. This recognition as a community on the rise continues to improve the area's image, across the United States and internationally, through various speaking engagements, university research and community requests to learn from our experiences. Frank Frassetto, state director-USDA-Rural Development, commented on their grant awards to the Initiative, "One of the purposes of the Rural Business Opportunity Grant funding is that the grantee sponsor economic development activities with significant potential to serve as examples of best practices that are replicable in rural communities of similar circumstances." A community learning from our example is Del Norte County in northern California. The Crescent City/Del Norte Chamber of Commerce asked the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance to assist its organization in a chamber to chamber exchange. This occurred after hearing a presentation on the Community Progress Initiative at their Economic Summit in March. The presentation helped them understand they could revitalize their community, which has suffered substantial economic setbacks due to the loss of two major industries (forest products and commercial fishing), using some of the same principles applied in the Community Progress Initiative. The Community Progress Initiative is a vehicle, which can help communities transition. "As in Wisconsin Rapids, I'm sure it will take several years to realize all the benefits of this initiative, but after 30 years of economic hardship and community apathy, we now have the strength, patience and knowledge to make sure this programming fosters self-reliance and forward thinking worthy of the mentoring we received from the Wisconsin Rapids Community Progress Initiative," said Chris Howard, president of their Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Del Norte County heard about the Heart of Wisconsin area's success from David Beurle, Innovative Leadership Australia, who was involved in the initial design and program development for the Community Progress Initiative "Many regions across the U.S. are dealing with difficult challenges and economic transitions, similar to what has confronted the central Wisconsin region over the last five years," Beurle said. "It is very exciting to see other regions look to Heart of Wisconsin area and the Community Progress Initiative to learn how they can reshape their own future." The national recognition and sharing our experiences, creates new market opportunities for our local businesses and access to new ideas, while attracting and honoring the intent of our funding sources. Susan Berresford, president of The Ford Foundation, commented at the third-year anniversary celebration, "The Ford Foundation not only invests in the Community Progress Initiative because of the benefits and outcomes created in your community, but also because it has national significance and other communities can learn from your experiences. They will be looking to you for assistance." This type of national recognition doesn't come often to a community. The Heart of Wisconsin region has cause to celebrate the accomplishments generated by all of those involved in making the Community Progress Initiative successful and renowned from coast to coast. When the Community Progress Initiative began three years ago, the partnering organizations incorporated the cutting-edge, community economic development trends and best practices used around the world. The Community Progress Initiative programs, developed to meet the needs of our community, utilized a number of experts in the field whose best practice examples were known to apply innovative and effective community economic development principles. One of those experts, Jim Haguewood, Clallum County NetWorks, said, "In a global economy with significant transition occurring, successful economic and community development programs are far and few between. It is vital that leadership from successful programs transfer knowledge and experience for others to enable their success also, economic collaboration is key." The area learned from other areas' experiences, thereby expanding our knowledge on how we could best lead our community forward to be a vibrant community with a prosperous local economy. Now, three years down the road, through the Community Progress Initiative, the Heart of Wisconsin community is recognized as a best practice and other communities are seeking to learn from our experiences. The Community Progress Initiative is "Making it Happen" in the Heart of Wisconsin area. The community is getting involved and we are seeing great progress. As our locally focused efforts continue, working to share our experience and support initiatives in other communities is another important way our community can also prosper. Connie Loden is president and chief executive officer of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance.
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