Tuesday, April 17 will be an exciting day for small town leaders across Michigan.  Throughout the day, the Small Town & Rural Development Conference will be featuring three speakers, each with a great perspective on what it takes for small towns to succeed. First, we will hear from Mary Randolph, Executive Director of the Wyoming Rural Development Council. Then, during lunch, Roger Brooks will join us from Destination Development International, Inc. Finally Becky McCray, speaker, consultant and author, will join us during dinner.  Here’s a sneak peek!

Empowering Rural Communities to Create Their Own Future

Mary Randolph

Three simple questions asked of in town hall settings became the basis for citizen-driven change in rural Wyoming   communities during the last ten years. The state’s Rural Development Council assembled a cadre of nearly 400 trained volunteers willing to listen to the citizensof small towns and help them put together a simple and realistic plan for their future. One hundred of these community assessments have been completed since 2000, and virtually every community participating has a list of proud accomplishments to show for their efforts.

The Reinvention of Rural America

Roger Brooks

There are more ghost towns in the making today than ever before in American history.  There are nearly 30,000 counties, cities, towns and villages in North America and more than 28,000 of them are rural.  So how do you win when every community is working to become THE destination of choice for business, residents and visitors?  How do you stand out from the crowd and get noticed?  In this engaging and humorous keynote address, you’ll see and hear the stories of what works and what doesn’t, while Roger walks you through the three ingredients of change and the seven things you need to do to win as rural America works to reinvent itself.

Small Town Rules

Becky McCray

Today, every business has to play by “small town rules”.  Consider that with social media any customer can express virtual satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a business as easily as word-of-mouth about a local merchant would spread in a small town café.  Really, our businesses in small towns already know what bigger businesses in bigger towns will need to learn.  Becky will outline these “rules” that, when followed, will allow small town businesses to thrive with limited resources while building their community and reaching beyond their  geographic boundaries.

Don’t miss this opportunity; register today to join us at the Conference!