ENERGIZE Clinton County

This Saturday, ECC is sponsoring a very special art exhibition opening at the South Street Gallery in downtown Wilmington. The exhibit–Illustrated Lives of Clinton County by Brigitta Mills–will feature eight portraits and written narratives telling the unique stories of people in our community. It is an exhibition that challenges us to ask questions about who we are as a community by opening a window into the deeper lives of people with whom we share this special place in the world.

The event opening is open to the public, and we would like to extend our invitation to you to attend. Food and drinks will be provided, and it will be a wonderful time for fellowship and a wonderful opportunity to meet Brigitta and talk to her about her work. So please join us on Saturday, 8/14 from 7pm – 11pm at the South Street Gallery (39 N. South St., Wilmington, OH). The show will be on display until Sept. 17th, so if you can’t make it on Saturday you’ll have additional opportunities to see it. [Download this event flier and share it with your friends!!]

One might ask why Energize Clinton County–an organization focused on community economic development–would sponsor such an event. Here are some of our thoughts on why we see the development of the arts as an important part of developing the broader community.

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‎Frankie Carr is DOING SOMETHING in Clinton County. Frankie is originally from a Cincinnati suburb, but she’s found a home and a community in Clinton County. Now she’s energizing local farms like Branstrator Farm & Peaceful Acres Lavender Farm with her passion for local food and her business savvy.

Support doing something in small towns by voting for Energize Clinton County to win the 2010 Do Something Award at—>> http://bit.ly/voteecc

Cole Haugh is DOING SOMETHING in Clinton County. He may not be from Wilmington originally, but now he’s inspiring a new generation of young dancers in Clinton County with his love and passion for the arts and performance. Watch his “Doing Something in Clinton County” profile, then vote for Energize Clinton County to win the 2010 Do Something Award at http://bit.ly/voteecc.

The Clinton Community Fellows are DOING SOMETHING in Clinton County. The 2010 Fellows are four outstanding WHS grads who decided to spend their summer break in their hometown serving local businesses and non-profits. You can follow their work at http://clintoncommunityfellows.org/.

Then vote for ECC to win the 2010 Do Something Award at http://bit.ly/VoteECC.

Kevin Walls is DOING SOMETHING for youth in Clinton County.After coming home last Jan. to take over the CCYC, Kevin has worked to revamp the program to meet the changing needs of Clinton County’s Youth.

Support DOING SOMETHING in Clinton County by voting for Energize Clinton County to win the 2010 Do Something Award at http://bit.ly/voteecc.

The summer of 2010 will be one to remember for four college students who have been accepted and began their terms in the inaugural year of the Clinton Community Fellows Program.

The Clinton Community Fellows Program is a ten week fellowship program that provides young leaders from Clinton County, Ohio the opportunity to develop valuable skills and experience in a rural, small-city environment. The program recruits and matches young, locally-connected talent with the needs of local businesses with interest in implementing innovative business development strategies. Under the supervision and mentorship of the program’s founding partners–the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission, and Energize Clinton County–the Fellows work on a project basis with business partners to provide additional business development capacity to assist local businesses in achieving their strategic objectives.

In addition to the hands-on business development experience, Fellows take part in networking, volunteer projects, and other community-oriented activities to help them make connections and identify opportunities for long-term employment in the community.

For 2010, the program received grant funding from the Cornerstone Foundation and the Clinton County Foundation. The program has received additional support from the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton County Leadership Institute.

This years’ fellows are: Kelsey Swindler, Chase Yeakley, Joe Zaycosky and Chas Widerhold.

You can learn more about the program, the Fellows, and their projects via the Clinton Community Fellows site HERE.

For more information on supporting the Clinton Community Fellows program, please contact Lori Williams at lwilliams@clintoncountyrpc.org.

We’ve reached the half way mark on our road to the Do Something Awards on July 19th, and we wanted to remind everyone that with just a few clicks a day at http://bit.ly/voteecc, you can help us bring $100k home to Clinton County.

But instead of just telling you to vote, we thought it would be cool to share with you what inspires us to do something, and to tell you about what we think makes our community is an awesome place to live.

If you ask people from most small towns, they’ll tell you that their biggest export is their bright young people. One of the most amazing things about the last two years in Wilmington is that it has brought back a generation of energetic, visionary young people–all 25 or younger–who are getting their hands dirty and leading efforts to rebuild our community.

So over the next few weeks we’re going be introducing you to our community of Do Somethingers through a video series we call “Doing Something in Clinton County.” And of course, we’ll also be reminding you to vote for us at http://bit.ly/voteecc. To kick things off we have two videos for you:

You can follow along as we roll out the videos on our Facebook, and Twitter, or at http://www.youtube.com/energizecc.

This past weekend Energize Clinton County was in New York City competing against 15 other social entrepreneurs to be selected as one of five finalists for the 2010 Do Something Awards. We are proud to say that last Monday at the Awards Kickoff event at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, Mark was selected as a finalist (and at least a $10,000 prize) and will move on to L.A. to hopefully take home the grand prize of $100,000!!! The awards will be held July 19th in L.A. and will be aired on VH1!

If awarded the prize ECC will put the money towards an energy audit pilot program we call L.E.A.P. (Local Energy Advancement Program) and will provide participating homeowners with a $350 stipend to be used towards a comprehensive energy audit. The goal of the program is to help homeowners overcome an obstacle towards energy efficiency retrofits by providing them a comprehensive list of the investments they could make to weatherize their homes, and the return on investment that they can expect to receive.

It is our belief that helping homeowners become more educated and aware of the potential savings to be had through weatherization will encourage more investment to be made in energy efficiency work. This growth investment, in turn, will provide demand for local energy auditors and contractors and increase our local capacity in energy efficiency improvements.

We wish to thank the folks at DoSomething.org for their work in spurring change in communities around the country and world. If awarded the funds, we believe that this program will go a long way in helping communities adopt innovative solutions to grow investment in energy efficiency, create jobs, and free up leaking capital from local economies. This program will provide essential information to further our understanding of the potential economic opportunities available through growth in the energy efficiency market.

DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps youth rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to get two million young people involved by 2011. By utilizing the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: young people who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and take action. Plug in at www.DoSomething.org.

A giant step has been made towards making the vision of the Green Enterprise Zone a reality!! Yesterday, we received word that Wilmington and Clinton County were selected to receive nearly $1 million to fund local renewable energy projects through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The grants will fund three very exciting local projects:

• City of Wilmington – $352,600 for the installation of a 58.3 kilowatt solar electric system at their waste water treatment facility.
• City of Wilmington – $309,393 for the installation of a 43 kilowatt electric generator and associated piping that can collect methane gas from the city landfill. The electricity generated will be used to power the city wastewater treatment plant.
• Clinton County – $340,175 for the installation of a 58.3 kilowatt solar electric system at the county jail.

It is difficult to overstate how important these grants are for attracting future green investment to Clinton County. With these projects, the community will have an opportunity to take a great leap forward in building the technical and economic expertise required to spur green development. The community will also be able to tangibly demonstrate its commitment to green development, and more importantly, its ability to facilitate investment through local leadership.

We would like to especially thank Mayor Raizk and Laura Curliss from the City of Wilmington; Mike Curry, Dave Stewart and Randy Riley, our Clinton County Commissioners; Mark Brooker, the Clinton County Economic Development Directory; and Chris Schock, Director of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission. None of this would have been possible without their support, their energy, and their vision for bringing innovation to Clinton County. We’d also like to thank the State of Ohio, Gov. Strickland, Brewster Rhodes, and Ohio Department of Development for their continued support of Clinton County. If you run into one of these public officials, we encourage you to congratulate them and express your appreciation for their commitment and support.

We look forward to watching these projects break ground in the coming months. Stay tuned to energizecc.com for more info.