HOMETOWN PARTNERS

HomeTown Partnership: Over 2 Years in Action

It has been over two and a half years since the inception of HomeTown Partnership in Barry County. Based on the HomeTown Competitiveness model in Nebraska, HomeTown Partnership has grown and developed into its own comprehensive strategy for long-term rural community sustainability for the Barry County community. Barry County has been able to turn this model into a “way of business” and energize our community to build upon our assets and strengthen our economic outlook.

Long-term rural sustainability can be interpreted as maintaining and protecting our community while making the necessary strides to assure current and future success. These strides will be taken in the HomeTown Partnership model’s four pillars: Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Youth and Community Assets, which define and support a healthy, rural community. Such a model is important for Barry County because it maximizes our assets, models responsible action, strengthens our community core and allows the community to keep its rural character, small-town atmosphere and reliable citizenry into the indefinite future.

Each of the pillar committees have been working hard over the past year to put on events and create opportunities to work towards our common goal: long-term sustainability. In the next couple of pages you will find updates from each of the four pillars and up to date information about the overall group’s accomplishments and happenings. HomeTown Partnership is being organized by the partner agencies of Barry County United Way, Barry County Economic Development Alliance, Barry Chamber of Commerce, MSU Extension and the Barry Community Foundation. If you would like more information, call the Barry Community Foundation at (269)945-0526. We will help you find your place in our partnership!

Entrepreneur Pillar

Vision: Sustainable economic prosperity

Desired Impact: To create a community climate that fosters entrepreneurship and business growth that results in positive economic activity.

Purpose: To attract and support entrepreneurship and business growth in Barry County.

2009 Objectives:
Analyze the Barry Community’s current entrepreneurial climate.

Meetings:
E-Pillar will meet on the second Wednesday of each month from 2:30-4 pm at the Courts and Law Building in Hastings.

Membership list

Chairs
Don Drummond, Co-Chair
Erin Welker, Co-Chair

For more information or to become involved please contact:

Erin Welker serves as one of the co-chairs of the Entrepreneurship
Pillar. Full time, Erin is the Communications
Director with the Barry Community Foundation.  phone: 269.945.0526 (Barry Community Foundation)

Don Drummond serves alongside Erin as the other cochair
of the Entrepreneurship Pillar. Don, who is now retired,
served in all facets of manufacturing management for
40 years.  phone: 269.945.9866

Youth Pillar

Barry County youth identified recreation, destructive behavior and jobs as the necessary areas of the Youth Pillar’s focus through a survey last year and their ideas are being met head on through the efforts of the Youth Pillar.

Additionally, the Youth Pillar has taken on a project to bring Youth Entrepreneurship to Barry County in partnership with the Barry County Economic Development Alliance.  Both in-school and after school youth entrepreneurship programs are being planned throughout the county in 2010. To get involved with youth entrepreneurship please call Laurie at the Barry Community Foundation at 945-0526 for more information. 

Membership list

Chairs
Ryan Rose serves as a co-chair of the Youth Pillar. Ryan is also the Program Director at the YMCA of Barry County.  269/945-4574

Laurie Black also serves as a co-chair of the Youth Pillar.  Full time, Laurie is the Administrative Assistant for the Barry Community Foundation.  269/945-0526

Leadership Pillar

The Leadership Pillar remains committed to encouraging more citizens to volunteer and take on leadership roles within the community through partnerships with the Barry County United Way’s Volunteer Center and
Leadership Barry County.

Membership list

Chairs
Sandi Drummond serves as a co-chair of the Leadership Pillar. Sandi is retired after many years in the public health and education fields. She remains an avid community volunteer, including consulting with the Drug Court of Barry County.

Jennifer Richards also serves as a co-chair of the Leadership Pillar. Jennifer is also Vice President of the Barry Community Foundation and manages Leadership Barry County and the Youth Advisory Council.

Contact information
For more information on this pillar or how to join, call Jennifer Richards at the Barry Community Foundation at (269)945-0526

Community Assets Pillar

The Community Assets pillar remains committed to a charitable giving focus but, a March 11 event with Luther Snow that had participants listing assets within our community made clear an additional focus:  our natural resources.  The asset mapping allowed community members to connect current assets in new and different ways.  One idea that received good response was a health initiative, such as a step program that would connect our health system assets as well as our natural resources.

Another initiative incorporating our natural resources is the development of two community gardens.  Stephanie Stevens has invested in a community garden at Delton Kellogg Elementary School.  The Garden Project will provide educational and social activity for students, families and community members.  MSU Extension has also developed a youth gardening program, F3ENERGY!  This program will provide nutrition and entrepreneurship education, but while it is directed specifically at youth, the greater community is encouraged to purchase produce to further the idea of “grow local, buy local.”

Membership list

Contact Information
For more information on the Community Assets Pillar or how to join, call Bonnie Hildreth at the Barry Community Foundation at (269)945-0526 or Lani Forbes at the Barry County United Way at (269)945-4010 (Pillar Co-Chairs)