A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     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 April 15, 2004 - Community Rallies to Foster Spirit and Motivate New Leaders The Community Progress Initiative, a collaborative initiative of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance and Community Foundation of South Wood County, will engage the region in a process to shape its future beginning next week. Community members throughout the South Wood County and Town of Rome region are encouraged to attend the Community Progress Initiative Launch on Thursday, April 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the Centralia Center, adjacent to Rapids Mall in downtown Wisconsin Rapids. At this launch, initiative partners will present their plan and attendees will hear from David Beurle, a world-renowned expert on rural leadership and innovative community economic development. Following the public launch, a series of eight community rallies are already scheduled to engage the region at a local level. Rallies are scheduled to run April 26-May 6 in Nekoosa, Port Edwards, Vesper, Rudolph, Wisconsin Rapids, Pittsville and Town of Rome. Specific times and locations can be found on the project’s website at www.progressinitiative.com or by contacting either project partner. These community rallies are expected to motivate residents to be actively involved in moving their communities forward creating their own future and to empower emerging leaders with the passion and knowledge to effect change. “In coordinating rallies at a local level, the Community Progress Initiative looks to assist communities in identifying how they would like to progress and charting a path on how to get there, building their capacity along the way,” comments Connie Loden, executive director of HOW. Rallies are just one of two very important Community Progress Initiative efforts to provide a catalyst for change and growth in the region. Through the Community Foundation of South Wood County, each community in South Wood County and the Town of Rome will have support in building charitable dollars to assist in developing new opportunities within their communities. Explains Kelly Lucas, president of the Community Foundation, “We will form advisory committees and work with residents in each community to create funds which will address quality of life issues and opportunities, as identified by the members of that community.” Specific details about the endowment funds and grant opportunities will be presented at the Community Progress Rallies. Sharing vision often happens when everyone has come to the table and new ideas are presented. A component of the three-year initiative, the “New Ideas Speaker Series”, will provide regular opportunities for residents to hear inspirational speakers who present various perspectives on how to affect change in this region. The first speaker in this series is C.Y. Allen, a Professor of Communication at UWSP. Allen is an accomplished rural leadership issues presenter who has spoken at state and national economic development conferences. He will share “Make it Happen How to Drive Change in Your Community” on June 8. “Communities, like those in this region, have the impressive ability through resources, social capital and power, to motivate and achieve phenomenal change,” comments Allen. “The change that is possible here can be accomplished through a social collaborative process and transformative acts of leaders and committed residents. We each help make the world we live in. We have the ability to make it happen here.” Additional “New Ideas!” speakers like Allen and August 31st’s expert Rebecca Ryan, who will speak to “Generation X & Youth Community Involvement”, will be announced at later dates. Loden and Lucas both recognize that positive community change is not only dependent on the entire community participating, but also needs to be led by knowledgeable and dedicated leaders. Leadership development programming within the Community Progress Initiative offers learning opportunities to empower emerging leaders.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome