Mobilizing Local Leadership |
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He cross-referenced leaders of churches,
civic clubs, and other groups, looking for people with
influential roles in multiple segments of the community.
Buttress found that leaders fell into a few basic roles,
such as recruiters, who knew and invited other
participants; communicators, on whom he could
rely to spread key messages; and blockers, who
might be opposed to change in the community. His
most important finding of the mapping process,
though, was that the majority of communities,
especially small ones, did not have strong leadership
bases at all. |
Community Builder initiative with Nebraska Rural Development Committee |
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To address the shortage, Buttress
worked with the Nebraska Rural Development
Commission to create Community Builders, an
initiative in which older community leaders identify,
mentor, and develop younger potential leaders.
When trusted local leaders reached out to others
in their communities?and when the communities
realized that their futures were a matter of local will,
vision, and effort?the project began to take off.
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Online network to connect rural manufacturers |
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In one rural community, for example, a retired
pharmacist used his local contacts to convince the
hospital to donate space for a technology center.
By working through trusted local leaders, Buttress was
able to build an online network that connected rural
manufacturers, enabling them to make joint purchases
at a discount. Another network enabled veterinarians
in widely separated rural communities to help each
other solve business problems.
“Finding the right people to work with was really the
determining factor in whether we were going to be
successful in a community,?EButtress says. |
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