Does your community have any conflicts? Does your community make decisions together? Do you know how?   

Years allowing your mayor and city and county officials to make community decisions have encouraged communities to "let them decide," rather than be involved in decision making.   

If this is your community's story, #RuralCommunitySolutions will discuss the power of our #SmallCommunity #Engagement Institute to face "wicked" issues you may have "swept under the rug" for years to build civility into your community.   

Making decisions together leads to happier, healthier, collaborative, and prosperous towns.

Vision, collaborative planning, and collaborative partnerships are the essence of effective community leadership. Though it can be learned, community leadership is not a science, and no one set of practices ensures effective leadership. Community leadership needs to be flexible to suit different situations. Leaders need sound knowledge of people and resources to act as creative problem-solvers.  

Leadership involves commitment, not just interest.  

Commitment is most effective combined with purpose, passion, shared vision and goals to get you where you want to be. Shared vision works best  when community-centered, not self-serving.  

Trust is a major indicator of effective leadership, with a number of sources. It may come from the personal integrity of a leader, from his/her hard work or from previous leadership with the community, encouraging community members to listen and respect that person’s point of view.   

Trust may develop when leaders, through their attitudes, approaches and actions, indicate they recognize that responsibility is owed to people as well as the bottom line of the project. Respect comes to people who lead to benefit all.  

Do you see yourself as a leader? Often in rural communities, those who are paid, positional leaders from a chamber of commerce, or the economic development office, are the ones assumed to be leaders. We know that leaders are everywhere and there is a vast, often untapped network to build your community.  

#RuralCommunitySolutions​ suggest ideas who to include in your meetings, events, projects, and especially in your planning. They may be people you never thought would be great leaders.

The Community Prosperity Institute. This Institute utilizes quantitative and qualitative research about your community to look at #CollaborativeLeadership​ through your   

  People - to renew itself demographically. 

  Place - to optimize placemaking to offer competitive quality of life amenities. 

  Economy - to create economic opportunities that enables diverse residents to make a living and pursue their dreams.    

When people truly live in healthy relationships, their personal environments change, impacting family, neighborhood, and community perceptions one person at a time.

Talented, motivated individuals should be able to create and grow businesses where ever they chose to live.   

Communities need to build support and knowledge-sharing around them.   

Entrepreneurs pass on the tradition of entrepreneurship to the next generation.   

Through entrepreneurship, the world will become a better place.   

By implementing our Four Pillars of Prosperity, you will build an environment to create a startup community so entrepreneurship can flourish. 

But only if you let it.

True collaborative leadership focuses on appreciating individual gifts and talents and how people use them to work together across functional and organizational boundaries.  

Collaborative leaders are in the people business, the business of building, shaping, molding, and drawing out the best of the people in your sphere of influence. 

When you practice true collaboration, you will build a network of trust that supports a startup community.

To fully understand another, to build a relationship with them, here’s a simple rule of thumb: you have to understand how and why a person learns and becomes who they are.  

Take the second step and learn how to engage the entrepreneurship community.   

Entrepreneurs will tell you what they need when they trust your community.

Do you actively listen or do you just wait to talk? 

The environment is the most important factor of a startup community. 

The environment will only be grown from the ground up.   

Discover how you can create a better environment where startup ventures thrive in your community.   

Take the first step on a 25 year journey.

If you want your community to keep its Main Street businesses, support planning business succession.   

Sweet Joy Shoppe in Atlantic, Iowa, talks about their succession of the family business. 

Values and faith are key to the continuation of this popular eatery.   

Learn the steps to a smooth family succession.

Aronia Berry is a SUPER Fruit! Healthy for your body and healthy for your bank account!   

Meet Kent Klinkefus, past president of the American Aronia Berry Association. 

The American Aronia Berry Association’s primary purpose is to educate and facilitate communication among the members.  

Join us as we talk about benefits of the association and the benefits of Aronia.   

You will have a Berry good time.

American Aronia Berry Association - www.americanaronia.org 

Dennise Bowyer from Bowyer Farms in Missouri, will talk us though the Aronia Berry from a growers perspective. As an entrepreneur, Dennise sees the ups and downs of building new markets and educating the public about healthy foods.   

Aronia berries are a small, round fruit native to North America. Their sharp taste dries out the mouth, earning them the nickname "chokeberries." Don't let the name fool you though, chokeberries are safe to eat and have numerous health benefits.  

If you live in North America, you may notice aronia berries growing in the wild. They look a bit like small cranberries, though they can be red or black, and grow on shrubs throughout the continent. Historically, they've been used by Native American tribes to make teas and treat colds as well as to eat.  Today, these berries are eaten all over the world. You can get them fresh, dried, or as a juice. 

This little berry has incredible health benefits. 

Do your research, and grab a glass of Aronia Juice!

American Aronia Berry Association - https://americanaronia.org/