[Mn-Rural-Summit] Countdown to 10th Annual Rural Summit

[Jane Leonard]

Dear Colleagues:

 

Please help us spread the word for one final time that the 10th annual Rural
Summit - set for May 10 and 11, 2007 at Craguns in Brainerd, Minnesota --
will knock your socks off with incredible content and speakers on "Thriving
by Design."  It's about being intentional in how we plan for our future and
how we balance many factors to make informed choices that can help our
communities, our businesses, and our state Thrive by Design. Register now,
and encourage others to register -- $200 will buy you a couple of great
meals, networking, and most importantly, excellent content and ideas.

 

I've been reviewing the copy for the final program printing and I'm really
amazed at the talent we have assembled in one place at one time --- from
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie helping us kickoff the one-year countdown to
Minnesota's Statehood Sesquicentennial, to sessions on how design and
planning are essential these days to staying competitive on the economic
front as well as ensuring a high quality of life all-around. 

 

Our keynote speakers will look back all the way to Minnesota's early
beginnings before statehood, and up ahead today at how Minnesota did and
still needs to Thrive by Design - that success doesn't just happen - you
need to plan for it and invest in it. We have a rich panel of speakers on
current realities and trends ahead -- in information and communications
technology, agriculture and renewable energy, housing, transportation,
health care, and education (check out all the speakers at
http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/2007_summit  ). 

 

Tom Stinson and Tom Gillaspy (our state economist and state demographer)
will be introduced by Commissioner Dan McElroy of the MN Department of
Employment and Economic Development to give us all a heads up on the changes
ahead in our economy and demographics. Neighbors to the east in Wisconsin
will share their insights on the importance of design in using downtown as
an enterprise networking node, and graduate students studying rural
entrepreneurship will present their capstone findings on a proposal to
create a Rural Enterprise Corps to help rural community leaders coordinate
their local wisdom with the rich resources available statewide and
nationwide.

 

You'll get a summary of all the planning projects currently underway in
Minnesota, to help us all prepare for a thriving, innovative future, and you
can learn about new grant programs that can help us move to that future
together. Over a third of the communities in Minnesota who have hosted the
Minnesota Design Team will be in attendance, so you can learn from them how
helpful the MDT process has been in the effort to Thrive by Design.

 

Don't miss this Summit, because we'll let you in on a little secret. The
10th annual Rural Summit may be the last. Minnesota Rural Partners has put
in 10 good years managing the creation of the Rural Summit with our
wonderful planning partners, and we want to go out on a high note. Next year
we'll be supporting Sesquicentennial events and initiatives, so the learning
and connecting won't stop. But next month, on May 10 & 11, help us make the
10th annual Rural Summit be the most memorable of all, with your presence
there. Sign up at http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/2007_summit and pass
the word along to colleagues, too.

 

Thank you so much - and hope to see you at Craguns in two weeks!

 

--Jane Leonard

President on leave, Minnesota Rural Partners

Executive Director of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission

www.minnesotaruralpartners.org <http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/> 

www.mn150years.org <http://www.mn150years.org/> 

 

 

 

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