|
This week the club held a "trial" meeting in the boardroom at the Perry Campus Center on the Doane campus. Several members went through the cafeteria line for their meals. There are always a few details to be worked out, but the room is very comfortable with a seating configuration that makes for a productive meeting. Club Secretary Janelle Snodgrass sent out an email to all members asking for their input and vote on whether the club wants to meet in the boardroom on a regular basis going forward. The votes will be tallied and reported next week. As we get ready to welcome the month of February, we are looking at a busy month of meetings and service projects. The meeting dates are February 7th and 21st. This is an exception to our usual "2nd and 4th" Wednesday meeting routine. The reasoning for the change in routine is that it would probably not be a good idea to meet on the 14th which is Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday. Service projects during the month include two evenings helping at the Elementary Book Fair and a Saturday morning helping at the Scout Pancake Feed. There is also a Backpack packing event in February. Specifics and signup sheets have, or will be, shared with members in the coming days. Our program for the meeting was Jason Tuller with the UNL Extension office. The office as a whole has many different departments, but he focuses in the Rural Prosperity Nebraska division. The program offers “research-driven resources, leaning opportunities, faculty experience, and a collaborative approach to community development.” He and his team work with communities to determine their needs and vision for growth, then come back with tools and resources they can feasibly and tangibly use to develop their communities.
When they facilitate discussions, it’s important that some key components are present:
*Making sure everyone is at the table—does the demographic at the meetings reflect the community? Are all age groups represented? Are all ethnicities included? Are community leaders involved? Are the same 10 people coming to the meetings with little to no input from others?
*Is there a local champion not associated with the city—he stated that if there is not a local champion excited about the changes, and getting others excited about the changes, outside of the city officials or government, it’s likely the plan will fail. Having even one person that rallies everyone else to change makes a huge difference in the success of the action plan.
Jason has been working with the extension office for 4 years, and is a Doane graduate! Thanks for coming to speak to us about what the UNL extension office can do for our community and what it’s doing for others.  |
.png)
