CAPACITY BUILDING

• Leadership Day 2008: Leaders from across Georgia gathered at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta to share best practices and success stories, and identify ways to improve leadership efforts, whether regionally through the Georgia Academy of Economic Development, youth leadership coordinated by Georgia 4-H, or the Community Leadership Initiative, led by Louise Hill. Senator Johnny Isakson was keynote speaker. Fanning coordinates this annual event, which is sponsored by the Georgia Rural Development Council and the OneGeorgia Authority. Debbie Allen, Matt Bishop, Emily Davis and Karen Holt were also involved in the event.
• Kim Anderson conducted the final session of LEAD21, a national faculty leadership development program for land grant colleges and universities. Included in the session, which focused on the public policy process and its impact on the land grant system, was the graduation of sixty-seven participants from across the U.S. who participated in the nine-month process comprising three on-site conferences, distance learning, self-directed learning and a campus leadership initiative.

EXPLORATION

• The annual meeting of 4-H leaders at Rock Eagle was the site of two forums Fanning conducted for the Southern Growth Policies Board. Leigh Askew, Danny Bivins, Jan Coyne, Langford Holbrook, and Karen Holt facilitated the sessions, conducted in partnership with Georgia Tech. These sessions were part of SGPB’s program, “Youth: The Future of the South,” which seeks input from youth on key issues facing the state.
• Matt Bishop, Jan Coyne, Langford D. Holbrook and Skip Teaster facilitated a planning session with the Board and staff of the Liberty Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Hinesville. The purpose of the session was to review findings from the assessment, review the LRMC mission, finalize action strategies and develop the implementation plan as the facility prepares for the population boom projected for the coastal region and the increase in personnel at Ft. Stewart.

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

• Langford D. Holbrook finalized the Lumpkin County Commercial and Industrial Standards and presented them to the county’s project committee. These standards will help the county’s planning department and development authority ensure quality as new commercial and industrial sites are developed, particularly along the GA 400 corridor.
• Danny Bivins and Langford D. Holbrook conducted a tabletop exercise to test the Peach County Animals in Disaster (ADP) plan, in cooperation with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Peach County EMA, the cities of Byron and Ft. Valley, Ft. Valley State University, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Peach County Extension Service, local veterinarians and other community representatives. The purpose of the exercise is to ensure the county’s ADP plan protects companion animals in future disasters.
• Leigh Askew and Danny Bivins met with local leaders and officials in Apalachicola, Florida, to discuss ways of integrating Florida, especially the Apalachicola area, into this summer’s Project Riverway course. Excited about the prospect of hosting Project Riverway, Apalachicola officials invited them to give a formal presentation to the City Council in April. Bivins also presented last summer’s Project Riverway to Riverway South, a not-for-profit partner, who has agreed to coordinate and sponsor this summer’s class trip.