Tag Archives: community leadership

What is Community Development? – Revised Publication

Back in January, I discussed definitions of community development under the banner What is Community Development?  That post actually followed one on how Community Development Precedes Economic Development. If you still have questions about what Extension Community Development looks like, Greg Taylor, Craig Carpenter, Jamie Rae Walker, and I have updated the What is Community Development? Extension fact sheet, available at here, at https://communities.tamu.edu/selected-publications/,  or at the AgriLife Bookstore. The publication primarily targets Extension faculty and presents how various aspects of community development overlap with other traditional areas… Read More →

Revisiting the Ten Commandments of Community Leadership

The Ten Commandments of Community Leadership are usually on the final slide of my in-person presentations. I actually got to be with a community in person last week, and someone tried to search for the book online. I found a PDF from the Association of Washington Cities,  and it’s totally worth the short read. Almost a decade ago, I was offered some items from a retired colleague’s files and stumbled upon The Ten Commandments of Community Leadership, a great little book by Maury Forman and Michelle Harvey published… Read More →

Resources to BTHO Hate and Build Community Dialogue

The words at the bottom of our Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service publications read: “Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides equal opportunities in its programs and employment to all persons, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” Yesterday, as news of a (since cancelled) white supremacist rally on the Texas A&M University campus developed, our Extension Director took a few moments to remind us of that statement and our commitment to it, and I’m so glad he… Read More →

Webinar: Committee of Negativity: Getting Past the Old Guard

Just saw a notice that Becky McCray and Deb Brown of SaveYour.Town are hosting their next webinar: Committee of Negativity: Getting Past the Old Guard. I hear about negativity concerns fairly often and think you will find these presenters helpful. Info is below. “All small towns have one, a committee of negativity that can’t find anything right with what you do. We’ve all been there and been frustrated with their reactions. Join Deb and I as we share stories and methods for diffusing the committee of negativity,” said… Read More →

Rural Leaders Share Ideas to Improve Communities

The Texas Rural Leadership Program participants share ideas to improve communities in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU_KsqoYEuo#action=share

Inspiration for Rural Communities

This morning, my final email reminder went out for the Rural Leaders and Economies Survey. Mail reminders went out late last week. If you’d like to participate, click here. I took a quick peek at the results-to-date. There were comments about struggle in our rural towns, but what stood out was that our rural leaders are truly INSPIRING people–people you want to meet, to know, to learn from and to emulate. Take a quick look at these comments, just a few gems among a treasure trove: “I was… Read More →

Rural Leaders Survey Open

Yesterday, I kicked off a new study of Rural Leaders and Economies. If that topic sounds interesting, you are welcome to participate here: http://tinyurl.com/qh3xo79 The purpose of this study is (1) to gauge rural leaders’ attitudes about local economies and potential new leaders and (2) to identify opportunities for communities to deepen citizen engagement and strengthen rural communities and economies. Results of the study will guide the development of Extension programming and publications to help communities identify and develop new rural leaders and to disseminate best practices in… Read More →

10 Commandments of Community Leadership

On a Throwback Thursday, with the blog having just moved to a new address, here’s a throwback to a series on the Ten Commandments of Community Leadership by Maury Forman and Michelle Harvey. This was a 10-part series this past spring. Links to the posts at the old blog site are below. Watch for a new series on rural wealth in September. 1. Thou shalt create a vision for the future. 2. Thou shalt develop a strategic plan. 3. Thou shalt build a sustainable economy for the next… Read More →