Capacity Building
In a keynote session for their program on Rural Economic Development in Thomaston, Karen Holt challenged members of the 2006 Leadership Georgia class to use their talents and contacts to address issues of poverty. Following Karen’s talk on “Leadership to What End?”, Dennis Epps, Louise Hill, Langford Holbrook, Randal Morris and others facilitated a discussion based on a hypothetical rural community scenario.
Exploration
Brenda Hayes has developed ethno-photographic presentations on Burke and Wilkes Counties that Matt Bishop will use in his work for the Department of Community Affairs’ Communities of Opportunity Project.
In his September State of the Environment speech to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Governor Perdue pointed out the importance of recreation-based tourism to Georgia and highlighted the work being done to complete the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). Langford Holbrook, Danny Bivins and Jan Coyne are assisting the Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources with the public participation portion of SCORP, which kicks off in October with town hall meetings in Atlanta, Camilla, and Columbus. For more information, see http://georgiastateparks.org/scorp
Randal Morris facilitated a full day strategic planning retreat for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Economic Development Authority, also attended by Georgia Power and Dennis Epps, Director of UGA’s Archway Project. The Board decided on several goals during its retreat, including the adoption of a land acquisition strategy that would identify properties to develop additional industrial parks, investigating a program to build new available buildings to attract business prospects to the area, and targeting business markets related to service business, electronic components assembly (appliance assembly), agribusiness and distribution/warehousing.
Courtney Tobin, Leigh Askew and Raye Rawls continue their work with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to create a statewide water management plan. EPD, with oversight from the Water Council, is charged with developing the first Statewide Comprehensive Water Management Plan. The Plan will be provided to the Water Council in July 2007 and presented to the General Assembly during the 2008 session. The work is mandated by the 2004 Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act, www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/fulltext/hb237.htm. Fanning Faculty and staff have been tasked with facilitating conversations with advisory committees, as well as conducting town hall meetings around the state.
