St. Maries, ID

Another year has come upon us, and it is just a reminder for us to improve our community!
I must apologize for my lack of posting over the past month, and the only thing I can do is that I will do my best to do better this year. There, that is my new year’s resolution! What is yours? I would love to hear them.
Looking at the picture above, it just reminds me of how lucky we are to live here in Saint Maries. It also mobilizes me into action…in the sense that I want to be a part of the future of our beautiful town, and not just someone who does not help create a positive future for our children.

TTFN
Tala

Building Social Capital: Connecting Newcomers and Locals to Strengthen Community

Lynette Flage, Community Leadership
Development Specialist, North Dakota State University Extension

January 15, 2008 9am-3pm
Grangeville, ID–Super 8 Meeting Room

January 16, 2008 9am-3pm
Plummer, ID–Tribal Wellness Center

How does a community assist those that have recently moved in to become engaged, feel at home and connected to this new place? A community with ample social capital will be able to do just that as they make newcomers feel connected and welcome.
For more information about the training contact:
Lynette Flage.

If you would like to register, please contact M.J. Joswiak at merijoz@uidaho.edu
I hope that you will be able to attend, it is a great way to get things started for us here in Saint Maries, and also meet others that are hoping to improve their communities like ourselves.

TTFN
Tala.

HORIZONS is a community leadership program aimed at reducing poverty in small towns in an eight state region. The program is funded by the Northwest Area Foundation (www.nwaf.org). University of Idaho Extension delivers the program with the assistance of individual community coaches in 14 rural communities in northern Idaho.
HORIZONS builds strong community leadership, acknowledging that strong leadership is as important as good roads, great schools and clean water.
HORIZONS embraces the entire community: everyone is needed and everyone has something to contribute. For communities to thrive, everyone has to have an opportunity to prosper. The main components of HORIZONS are:

 Community conversations and action planning focused on poverty reduction
 Inclusive, broad based leadership development
 Community visioning and action

HORIZONS explores the perceptions and the sourcs of poverty, recognizing that it isn’t always about lack of money. The program focuses on poverty, because poverty impacts everyone in a community.

H appy, Thriving community (the goal)
O rganize & mobilize existing assets (people, places & groups)
R eceive resources & support (grant funders)
I nitiate community conversations (study circles/ action forum)
Z ealous leadership (leadership plenty)
O wn our own destiny (reinvent the future)
N ame together where we are going (unified vision)
S pring into action (make significant changes to improve)

We are working hard to make all our goals come to fruition! Please join us whenever you can, we welcome your ideas, time and thoughts!

TTFN
Tala.