Small Group Develops Robust Ideas

In conjunction with several sponsors, the Blaine County Extension Service hosted the second session of the Re-imagining Rural Virtual Gathering. The meeting was held on September 29 at the Triple E Meeting Room in Chinook. The session proctor and MSU-Extension Agent Juli Snedigar reported that the crowd at Tuesday night’s presentation was “small but mighty.”

In order to prepare for the session, Snedigar had asked attendees to do a little “homework.” In a conversation with a newcomer to the area, Snedigar suggested asking three questions:

• What pulled you to the community?

• Did you move for a job? If not, how did you find one?

• What do you love about the region?

Snedigar wanted those who missed the September 15 Re-imagining Rural session to be on point with those who had attended and received that task from the first session speaker, Ben Winchester.

With his research, Winchester identified the social and economic opportunities of the migration—what he calls “rural brain gain”—that rural communities are experiencing. He emphasized the importance for those in rural communities to change their narrative from what we had/could have to what we are and what we value.

The homework produced interesting statistics. For example, forty-seven per cent of recent residents moved to Chinook for employment purposes, and those newcomers favor the small-town, family-feel of the community, its friendly people, and the recreation opportunities available in North Central Montana.

“We had answers that varied from people preferring a small town and a slower pace of life to those who wanted faster internet speeds, so they came and brought their jobs with them. A lower cost of living, more space, and smaller schools were also contributing factors to folks moving here. People like being in a safe community where children can ride their bikes around town and where everyone is willing to help each other,” Snedigar reported.

The keynote speakers in the second session of the Re-imagining Rural series, Deb Brown and Becky McCray of the Save Your Town organization, challenged those in attendance on Tuesday night to think about and embrace an “Idea Friendly” approach to community work that doesn’t depend on a bureaucracy or formal structures and organizations. Working from the premise that small towns can best be saved by their own people using their own resources, the two women carried the thought thread from Winchester’s presentation and emphasized, “Don’t keep saying, ‘there used to be’ or ‘it once was.’ The future of your town can be determined by you, right now!”

Another theme that surfaced repeatedly during the evening addressed what happens when a group of people gather to resolve some issue. Typically, multiple ideas get shared, the group votes on one idea, and tries to accomplish it in a big way. Brown and McCray explained that the big idea could go great or it could be one big failure. Rather than voting on one idea, they recommended setting all ten ideas out to test on a smaller scale. Some might fail, but the failure is smaller. The rest might succeed in a big way.

In making their point, Brown and McCray borrowed Clay Shirky’s notion of “failure for free.” Shirky teaches in the Interactive Telecommunications program at New York University on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies and journalism. He is also an author, most recently, of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations. In an allusion to Shirky’s book, Brown and McCray offered this wisdom: “The cheaper it is to fail, the greater your chances of getting to success and getting there quickly, since failing for free means you’re pretty much willing to try anything. Often, the only expense in trying out a new idea is a measure of your time.”

According to Snedigar, “The speakers presented a different approach than the typical: have an idea, form a committee, and set up a bunch of meetings. They suggested we lead by example and start small.

Make changes yourself, get the message out there, and gather a following. If everyone does a small part, the success could be big.”

After the keynote presentation, those gathered in the Triple E Room studied their reaction cards and brainstormed ideas for a local project. A discussion about how to implement those ideas will be the topic in the next session.

The third and final session in the Re-imagining Rural series will be held on October 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the Triple E Room. In addition to implementation steps, the group will learn about grants offered through the Montana Community Foundation and their partners. Participating communities can apply for funding through this grant program.

Anyone who wishes to engage in the conversation started by the Re-imagining Rural Virtual Gathering is encouraged to access the private Facebook page, Re-imagining Rural Montana and to join in. Videos of past sessions are also archived there for viewing.