LouiKa TexAr
At the beginning of August 2011, I spent a week in Conway Arkansas at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) attending my second year (Year Two) of the Community Development Institute (CDI). Originating at UCA in 1986, CDI—UCA is one of five regional locations of the Community Development Council, a non-profit organization providing a “Certified Community Developer (CCD) program designed to advance the standards of competence among community development professionals”. The certification program—Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED)—trains both community development professionals seeking professional credentials, and volunteers in core competencies required for effective community and economic development. These core components are integrated “into professional development opportunities, certification study materials, testing of knowledge and demonstration of applied learning” obtained over a three-year period, or sooner if one opts to attend other Institute locations. Other CDI Institutes are located in Idaho, Illinois, Texas, and West Virginia.
To say that the week was reinvigorating—even inspirational—is an understatement. 2011 CDI—UCA students, speakers and instructors came from across the South representing Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas; the Midwest’s Kansas; and the Southwest’s Arizona. In addition to its educational purpose, CDI advances the cause for regional community and economic development, as professionals from across the country come together to work on problems unfettered by state lines and topographic boundaries.
Year One introduced participants to community development principles including social justice, self-determination, cooperation (working/learning together), sustainability, participation, inclusiveness/diversity, and continuous learning, as well as strategic planning and ethics. Their challenge was putting the lessons into action as Year One participants set about planning in the New Town Simulation. The Simulation resembles Monopoly on steroids as six individual community/economic development teams compete for resources, form political alliances, and get an inkling of the complexity of the politically charged often egocentric economic development environment.
The invaluable lesson learned in Year Two was the importance of business retention. We must cherish and nurture what we have— never forsaking the local for the global. The ideal business portfolio seems to be a mix of local and international—well cared for Mom & Pops (in all sizes) as well as the more seductive Big Box employers. We were encouraged to embrace the Creative Economy and new media trends in marketing our communities.
In his keynote presentation, Dr. Vaughn Grisham inspired us with case studies of community leadership and cooperation, and warned us against tolerating mediocrity. A two-hour Poverty Simulation was eye-opening as we were assigned roles to play which dictated our marital, parental, and economic status. New County Simulation was our opportunity to apply both Year One and Year Two collaboration and leadership skills. Year Two Class Leaders introduced disaster after disaster to remedy— including corralling a truckload of escaped monkeys infected with an unknown, extremely contagious virus. Time and again Year Two worked together to develop and implement a cooperative plan among New County’s three municipalities.
The curriculum for Year 3 covers organizing community development, tourism, grant-writing, working with non-profits, housing and retail development, historic preservation, and a community redevelopment case study. Above all the final year cements the importance of collaboration. I can only speak to 2011 Year Three’s experience as an observer. Through conversations with individual members, I’ve learned that from their first year together as 2009 Year One, the group worked collaboratively, consistently recognizing the value, effectiveness, and efficiency of cooperation. So much so that at this year’s 2011 Awards Banquet, the CDI Ernest Whitelaw Award bestowed upon a “recipient exemplifying the highest standards of dedication to the field of community development and demonstrate strong leadership throughout their CDI experience” was voted upon and accepted by the class as a whole under the name, LouiKa TexAr, an amalgamation of their states of origin.
Driving home from CDI as I crossed Mississippi from Greenville to Starkville, I was amazed at the beauty and bounty of the fields and communities. The route is a feast of photo perfect images of farms, barns, silos, and old sheds, vast stretches of corn and soy beans, homes—large and small, and small towns inviting me to pull over, take a break, and have a cup of coffee. Highway 82, like a magic carpet, propelled me through the history of Mississippi—the river, the soil, the Indian Mounds, plantations, crops, droughts and floods, farm owners, the meager lives of slaves and sharecroppers, and the Southern diaspora.
Mississippi vibrates with life and potential. Driving, I couldn’t help but think how easy it is to stay in my small office surrounded by plants and books, forgetting the real Mississippi that can only be experienced by being out in it. In my travels, Mississippi’s small towns, larger municipalities, and cities always present me with wonderful opportunities to meet and mingle with the locals. I love the stories of the trials and tribulations, and the hopes and dreams residents have for their communities.
Dr. Grisham encouraged us to celebrate victories—large and small—that we accomplish together. Given the state of the economy and the fact that there are never enough resources, even in the best of times, the story of Stone Soup comes to mind.
In Stone Soup, a hungry traveler induces local villagers to participate in his delicious meal of stone soup—yes, water and a simple stone… In the end villagers add onion, potatoes, and carrots before they go to waste to make an abundant soup.
The moral and message of Stone Soup is that satisfaction is not so much achieved by filling our stomachs, as by the productivity and happiness that comes from sharing. That’s the goal of community development.
Photo Source: http://issuu.com/ucaoutreach/docs/ernest_whitelaw
