• Mac Brown, Jan Coyne, Karen Holt, and Courtney Tobin participated in the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development’s inaugural Work Ready Region Academy at Stone Mountain on March 18, presenting information on mapped regional assets, such as educational institutions, companies in various sectors selected by regional teams, and transportation networks. The seven multi-county regions will continue to meet in the Academy for the next eighteen months.

EXPLORATION

• The Fanning Institute, in collaboration with Georgia Tech, held four forums with young people as part of the Southern Growth Policies Board 2008 issue: Youth: The Real Future of the South. Two of the forums involved regional 4-H leaders meeting at Rock Eagle; the other two were for Junior Achievement groups in metro Atlanta and Savannah. The forums examined attitudes about workforce readiness and the participants’ involvement in extracurricular activities, volunteer service, and community engagement. The results from the forums as well as an on-line survey will be compiled in Georgia’s report for the SGPB, and will be incorporated into the annual report to be presented at the SGPB conference in Little Rock in June. Fanning faculty involved in this effort include Leigh Askew, Danny Bivins, Jan Coyne, Louise Hill, Langford Holbrook, and Karen Holt, with assistance from Amanda McKasson.

• Faculty from the Fanning Institute and the Carl Vinson Institute made a presentation to community, business and faith leaders in Columbus on March 12 on community approaches to combating poverty. Matt Bishop, Kelly Foster, Karen Holt and Courtney Tobin updated data from an eight county community needs assessment conducted by faculty from both institutions several years ago and discussed options for developing a strategic plan for the region.

• Rob Williams assisted the Association County Commissioners of Georgia’s Board of Directors with the development of their first strategic planning process in more than ten years.
  
  

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

• OneAthens held its final meeting on March 31st, unveiling strategies for reducing Athens’ 31% poverty rate. Action will be taken within sixty days on several key programs: affordable housing, public transportation, teen pregnancy and health care. The founders (and PPA co-convenors) – UGA, the Athens-Clarke County government and school district, the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Family Connection and a coalition of black community leaders – now face the task of following through on these recommendations. Sandy Christopher, Delene Porter and Joe Whorton continue to be heavily involved in this effort, and for this meeting with 600 participants, were assisted by Debbie Allen, Jessica Garris Miller, Janet Rechtman, and Pam Ward.

• 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.

Leaders from across Georgia gathered at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta on February 11th to share best practices and success stories, and to 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 of the Fanning Institute. Senator Johnny Isakson was keynote speaker. Fanning coordinates this annual event, which is sponsored by the Georgia Rural Development Council and the OneGeorgia Authority.

• At the Georgia Municipal Association’s Mayors’ Day in Atlanta, Danny Bivins was part of a collaborative team from UGA’s Alliance for Quality Growth presenting a Managing Growth Training session and Brenda Hayes conducted Downtown Development Training for the Georgia Cities Foundation for more than 60 elected officials, city managers, downtown managers and Downtown Development Authority Board members who learned about legal issues, funding sources, and received practical tips from seasoned downtown professionals.

EXPLORATION

• Fanning Institute faculty and SERDI staffers Langford D. Holbrook and Jim Youngquist visited the Buffalo Trace Area Development District in Northern Kentucky to begin the process of assisting the BTADD in selecting a new executive director, facilitating a session with current BTADD employees to solicit input on the characteristics needed in a new director and meeting with the current Executive Director and the Board to design the search process.
• Danny Bivins and Langford D. Holbrook facilitated a planning session for the Peach County Animals in Disaster Plan February drill to test the county’s Animals in Disaster Emergency Plan and plan improvements.
• Brenda Hayes and Langford D. Holbrook met with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Board and acting President to present the findings from the December Fanning facilitated sessions, to help them develop input on the future direction of the Trust and the attributes and characteristics desired in a new President/CEO.

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

• The SWAMP Team provided the Water Council with the final version of the Comprehensive State-Wide Water Management Plan, which was adopted by the Council on January 8. Fanning then provided copies of the Plan to the Georgia General Assembly, the Governor’s Office, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the Speaker of House’s Office, and to all member agencies of the Water Council. In adopting the plan, Dr. Carol Couch, Chair of the Council and Director of EPD, thanked Fanning’s Leigh Askew, Raye Rawls and Courtney Tobin for their hard work.
• Langford D. Holbrook and Karen Duncan designed and implemented an on-line survey for the UGA Biofuels initiative. The feedback on the survey will be used in an upcoming retreat as the members of this campus initiative develop action strategies to move the biofuels initiative forward.
• Delene Porter was named President/CEO of the OneAthens Community Foundation.

More information about OneAthens

Athens Banner Herald article

Recognizing the growth pressure arising from its strategic location between Atlanta and Macon, as well as Gordon College’s increasing enrollment, the city of Barnesville took a proactive approach: partnering with the Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia to develop its own Community Vision. “Barnesville Community Visioning Process: Final Report” is the result of this partnership and will serve as a guide for Barnesville as it furthers its vision for the future. Danny Bivins serves as the lead faculty on this project, working with Leigh Askew, Langford Holbrook and Tyson Young.

• Kim Anderson and Louise Hill facilitated a two-day training for the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Florida. Included in the training were basic facilitation skills and an overview of leading community dialogues.
• Langford D. Holbrook designed and delivered a training session at the DCA Community Development Block Grant Applicants workshop in Augusta, focusing on the importance of quality planning and how including community development block grant projects in those plans can make grant applications more competitive.
• Brenda Hayes and Langford D. Holbrook conducted a series of four planning sessions for the Georgia Trust in Atlanta. The sessions were designed to solicit input primarily on how the Trust can be sustainable in the future and what characteristics are needed in the new President/CEO.

EXPLORATION

• Leigh Askew, Danny Bivins, Langford D. Holbrook, and Courtney Tobin facilitated Georgia Water Council public meetings in Augusta, Canton, Columbus, Macon, Midway, and Valdosta. More than 200 people attended the meetings to provide comments on the statewide water management plan.
• Matt Bishop continued the second round of community leader meetings for Communities of Opportunity, facilitating four meetings with 100 participants in Burke, Elbert, Glascock, and Jefferson counties. Jan Coyne, Louise Hill, Karen Holt, Raye Rawls, Skip Teaster and Courtney Tobin assisted in the meetings.
• Delene Porter presented a PPA/OneAthens work session for 25 participants at the 2007 Department of Labor Workforce Conference in Savannah.

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

• Danny Bivins served as a team leader for the “Your Town: A Design Workshop.” The Your Town program is a rural design leadership workshop developed and sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). The workshop in Plains targeted 32 Latino leaders from across Georgia. Deborah Gonzalez also participated.
• Jim Geiser, Delene Porter, and Joe Whorton facilitated eight PPA/OneAthens meetings with almost 200 participants, including one for Young Partners for A Prosperous Athens (YPPA), an anti-poverty summit for 100 Athens high school students. Matt Bishop, Danny Brewington, Langford D. Holbrook, and Courtney Tobin assisted.

• The State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is complete, signed by the Governor, and approved by the National Park Service. Langford D. Holbrook served as project manager for this 18-month project, working with Leigh Askew, Danny Bivins, and Jan Coyne to design, implement and analyze the public input process for the plan. Fanning collaborated with the Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as well as the following UGA partners: the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology, the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, and the Center for Community Design and Preservation.