2010 Southern Regional Rural Summit Outline
National and regional USDA leaders, state agency leaders, and non-profit and business leaders from throughout the southern U.S. came together for two days of strategic planning around four crucial directions for the rural South:
- Economic Development – Education & Skills for Job Creation
- Workforce Development – Rethinking Skills Development
- Energy - Advancing Efficiency, Generation for Fuel Development
- Broadband - Global Opportunities and Rural Lifestyles
The summit was designed to share best regional and place-based practices and build strategic partnerships among state Rural Development offices and rural leadership organizations throughout the region.
Expected Outcomes
- A transforming effect on the Southern Region
- Create partnerships – Collaborate across county, region, and state lines
- Develop sound strategy for community and economic development
- Encourage entrepreneurial activity and new business development
- Learn what the major issues are and how they are impacting the Southern Region
- Equip attendees with ideas and tools to improve the quality of life in their local area
- Develop policy issues around the areas of concern
Presentations
Mary Randolph, Chair, Partners for Rural America – Learn about PRA
She also introduced Convening attendees to the Amazing Maisie
Glen C. Sink, Southern Region PRA Chair & Executive Director, Council for Rural Virginia
Ellen Matthews Davis, Virginia State Director-USDA Rural Development, Council for Rural Virginia Board of Directors; Co-Chair Strategic Rural Partners for Community Capacity
Dr. Oliver McBride, Executive Director, Crossroads Institute; Past Chairman, Council for Rural Virginia and Current Advisor to the Council Board of Directors
Welcome conveyed by the Honorable Frank M. Ruff, Jr. on behalf of Governor Robert F. McDonnell of Virginia
Keynote Speaker: Cheryl Cook, Deputy Under Secretary Rural Development U.S. Department of Agriculture
Ms. Cook was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development. She manages policies and programs in Rural Development's three main areas: Business and Cooperatives, Housing and Community Facilities, and Utilities.
Ferrel Guillory, Director for Public Life, Center for the Study of the American South located at the UNC – Chapel Hill
Strengthening Partnerships through Network Collaboration
Economic Development – Education & Skills for Job Creation
Matt Chase - President of National Association of Development Organizations - NADO
Regional Innovation Strategies Are Key to the Future of Rural and Small Town America
Jonathan Watts Hull - Southern Legislative Conference
Visualizing the Network -
Isolation is the standard operating procedure for too many rural entrepreneurs, businesses and communities. Individuals, organizations, and businesses do their work without coordination or collaboration, perpetuating patterns of disconnection that contribute to asset and information deficits. New approaches to rural economic development--ones that consider the total asset base of a community and intentionally organize around the breaking of barriers to total community involvement, offer a solution to this. Building this three-dimensional network requires the efforts and commitment of a range of public and private partners.
Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr., Senate of Virginia
Virginia’s State/Federal Rural Coalition
Roanoke River Basin Bi-State Commission serving Virginia & North Carolina
Jim Clinton, CEO, Cenla Advantage Partnership
Cenla Advantage Partnership (CAP) provides knowledge - tools - leadership for the economic prosperity of Central Louisiana
Workforce Development – Rethinking Skills Development
Ron Painter - President of National Association of Workforce Boards NAWB
National Association of Workforce Boards
Gerald A. Doeksen, Director, National Center for Rural Health Works
Regents Professor and Extension Economist Oklahoma State University
Healthcare as an Economic Engine
Carl Mitchell, President and CEO, Virginia Economic Bridge
A Resource for the Commonwealth
Leanna Blevins, Associate Director, New College Institute
From Manufacturing to Manufacturing Minds: Promoting Higher Education and Collaboration in Rural Virginia
Energy – Global Opportunities and Rural Lifestyles
Peter Stenberg, USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), Washington DC
Rural Internet Practices
Lionel J. (Bo) Beaulieu, Director , Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC)
Promoting the Adoption of E-Commerce Strategies: New Web-Based Educational Resources
John A. Dillman III, Executive Director, Maryland Upper Shore Regional Council
Broadband - What do we do with it?
Presentation Handouts
Rene' F. True, Executive Director, ConnectKentucky, Frankfort, KY
Rural Broadband Landscape
Larry Mathiot, Government Relations Manager - CenturyLink
Broadband: Private Sector Role in Community Development
Beth O'Connor, Executive Director, Virginia Rural Health Association & Virginia Rural Health Resource Center
Broadband: Implications for Telehealth |
