ENERGIZE Clinton County

The Art of Community Development — The Illustrated Lives of Clinton County

energizecc — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:52:33 +0000

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.

Investing in Local Assets

The single most important thing any community can do to become wealthier and more sustainable is invest in its local assets. We often think of assets in terms of infrastructure–the Air Park and other industrial facilities, our downtowns and business districts, the surrounding farmland, etc.–or institutions–our schools and colleges, Clinton Memorial Hospital, etc. Often, we overlook the fact that our human capital–the skills, experiences, and talents of our people–also constitute a valuable asset in our community. Public displays of art provide any opportunity to invest in our local assets by celebrating their talent and creating a market for their work. The Illustrated Lives of Clinton County is of special importance for us because it showcases the art of one of our young artists who has returned home for the summer.

Marketing the Community to the Knowledge Economy

In the emerging post-industrial economy, the calculus for economic development is shifting. Where communities once competed to attract businesses and skilled workers based on infrastructure, the mobility of post-industrial businesses is bringing about a serious revaluing of quality of life as a key factor determining business placement. As we work to attract new business to Clinton County, we must focus more and on developing an attractive quality of life which meets a broad range of interests, including the arts, to be competitive.

Reminding Us of the Importance of Creativity

As we go about our daily lives and business in the community, it is easy to forget what a creative process creating a living community is. There is no text book that tells us what our vision for our community should be, or what path we should take to realize our vision. Each day as we live, shop, attend events, and invest in our community we are part of a creative process of producing the community. Undoubtedly, our current economic challenges force an even greater need to creatively utilize our local resources to reform our community and create new wealth and wellbeing out of what we have around us. We believe that the experience of art, especially public art, plays a very important role sparking that creative spirit within each of us, helping that flow of creative energy in the community move a little easier.

The Illustrated Lives of Clinton County is the first of what will hope will be a series of public art events in the community. This exhibition will be the first show curated by the newly formed Wilmington Community Arts Collaborative. This network of artists–convened by Clinton Community Fellows Chas Wiederhold–will be working to bring many more exciting opportunities to the community to actively engage in the process of creating, and enjoying beautiful things in Clinton County. We look forward to supporting their efforts. If you’d like to learn more about the WCAC, you can e-mail wcac@energizecc.com.

Doing Something in Clinton County part 6 — Frankie Carr

energizecc — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:06:32 +0000

‎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

Doing Something in Clinton County part 5 — Cole Haugh

energizecc — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:23:07 +0000

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.

Doing Something in Clinton County Part 4 — Clinton Community Fellows

energizecc — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:20:42 +0000

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.

Doing Something in Clinton County Part 3 — Kevin Walls

energizecc — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:03:20 +0000

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.

Energize Clinton County Partners with Local Organizations to Start Clinton Community Fellows Program

energizecc — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:23:43 +0000

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 Institut e.

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.

Doing Something in Clinton County

energizecc — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:01:53 +0000

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.

And a big thanks to John Cropper (one of our favorite Do Somethingers) for his amazing work putting these together.

Doing Something in Clinton County Episode 1 — Energize Clinton County

Doing Something in Clinton County Episode 2 — Eric Guindon

VOTE!!! Help ECC Win the 2010 Do Something Award!!

energizecc — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:56:29 +0000

As I’ve mentioned in the post below, ECC will be going to L.A. in July to the 2010 Do Something Awards and potentially come home with $100,000!!

In the meantime, we need your help—please go to this link and vote for Mark Rembert of Energize Clinton County for the award.

Spread the word on the voting and help us win this prize. It means a great deal to the community and to other communities trying to find innovative ways to spur growth in energy efficiency.

ECC Selected as a Finalist for the 2010 Do Something Awards!!

energizecc — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:49:28 +0000

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.

The Importance of Community in Crisis

energizecc — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:14:10 +0000

Written by Patrick Carroll

All over the U.S., neighbors are less talkative; people have fewer friends, make less conversation and in turn have less help in times of crisis. In this Bill McKibben excerpt, he discusses why the answer to our questions of sustainability and future prosperity is community. There are many factors that make it difficult to become an interconnected group of people. One of the problems is our food. Bill interviews with a local diner owner and documents his struggles to buy his ingredients locally because farms have gotten bigger and bigger, making not buying locally a much cheaper option. It is difficult to connect locally when doing so will bankrupt you. While businesses try to expand and thrive, McKibben stresses the need to just survive in order to continue benefiting the local community. The ultimate goal described by McKibben is to rebuild communities as “functioning economic entities”, in the hope that they’ll be able to buffer some of the effects of peak oil and climate change.” Clinton County’s unemployment isn’t exactly peak oil, but the effects of the two are similar, and rebuilding as a “functioning economic entity” is a common solution.

As a Wilmington College student coming from outside of Clinton County, I’m amazed at how the community has handled its current situation. I’m from Cincinnati where the unemployment rate is not 20% but the loss of community does exist. I don’t know the faces of some of my neighbors, let alone their names. Clinton County is a wonderful community but few places in the U.S. are exempt from this tragedy. The idea of a lost sense of community goes further then the lack of communication with neighbors. Do you know who grew your dinner last night? Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable knowing you bought from someone who is also fighting through this crisis? While fast food and convenient stores harbor the separation of our local community, things like farmer’s markets fight the disconnection. It’s an encouraging feeling talking to the man who grows your food and you get a good feeling in your gut for buying locally. Local consumption recreates a sense of community that can be lost in the mindless grocery stores and the fast food chains designed for maximum speed and minimal communication.

My first year in Wilmington had me drawn towards the chain restaurants, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and other big names. The sense of community at fast food joints is weak and its connectedness with the community is non-existent. In my second year in Clinton County i was finally introduced to some real local restaurants. What drew me to them? Recommendations, conversation; students and locals telling me all the great places are in downtown Wilmington. These conversations show the strong support of local business in the town. The relationship between restaurants and their patrons is the most basic example of that need for connection in a community trying to become a “functioning economic entity”.

As we strive to create a more sustainable local economy, it should be about making relationships not just transactions. This is a crisis in which personal connections with each other and our local businesses can be the catalysts to connecting our community as a whole.

Patrick Carroll is a sophomore at Wilmington College. He is a social and political studies major who also runs cross country and track.