Looking for a few good people
By TERESA HUFFMAN
Director, Marion County Economic Development
I had conducted research about the Home Town Competitiveness program three months prior to the July 11 meeting with Leon Atwell at Lincolnville.
Although I don't have a definitive answer about how it benefited the entities that participated, they all state it was well worth the effort and they would do it again if given the opportunity.
I feel very passionate about this grassroots approach because it could really benefit Marion County. Growth and development of our small communities start in the communities themselves, not from a government program or grant, when people work together to improve their towns.
People call or come by my office and request information about grants. As government budgets get tighter, grant funds get smaller. I'm not opposed to grants. Grant funds come from federal and state tax dollars we pay. We all pay taxes. I would rather my tax dollars come to Marion County than go to another county but we cannot be dependent on them.
HTC is a come-back, give-back approach.
I still send funds to Independence in support of programs that benefited my children when they were growing up. There are many people who would do the same thing here if they were asked to help their hometown grow and prosper.
This program is very close to my heart because I always knew when my sons left for college, they probably would not come back home because the jobs were not there.
Now I have grandsons growing up here in Marion County and I want them to come home after college.
I tell people there are no silver bullets but this is an approach that can get our small, rural communities working on some solutions that will slow down and turn around the decline in population and jobs.
We've all read in the newspaper about the decline in population in our county. It's time to try a new approach.
We need people who are ready to step up to the plate and say they will do whatever it takes to make the changes necessary to turn us around.
I am hoping to find at least three people from each of the 12 communities in Marion County who want to work together to make a difference by using the skills we can learn from the HTC program.
If anyone wants additional information or has any questions, please call me at (620) 382-8830.
