The wonderful American poet Robert Frost once wrote "I always entertain great hopes." That truly is the American spirit: to believe in a better tomorrow and to work toward it. We at Winning Communities have the opportunity to work with people who lead their communities into the future.
One of these leaders is Ted Leas, the President of Pacesetter Bank in Blackford County, Indiana. I have written about Blackford County in past blogs, but it is because of leaders like Ted that is moving the community ahead.
I worked as their facilitator and partner in establishing a community vision and action plan with them. Ted reports that they are accomplishing much in implementation of the plan. When we began working with them last year, many of the leaders commented that too many people were "down on their community". Well, thanks to those leaders and the people themselves, they are moving toward their shared vision. They have established a Leadership Academy, have 700 citizens involved in a "One Book - One Community" program, and are taking action of many other objectives.
They will soon be designated as a "Certified Winning Community". To learn more about this process check out our web site at www.winningcommunities.com. Many other fine cities, towns, and counties are working toward their certification.
They all have "great hopes"!