Written by Jessica AcMoody, Senior Policy Specialist at CEDAM
Every year in April, the Michigan Rural Council hosts the Small Town and Rural Development Conference. The conference attracts everyone from city managers to Chamber Directors to local economic development professionals who are interested and passionate about small towns in Michigan and the great potential of our rural areas.
Here are three reasons to attend the 2016 conference:
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Our lunch keynote speaker, Paul Costello, the Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development will talk about how America’s rural roots influence the larger process of where we are going as a state.
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The City of Mt. Pleasant worked with developers to facilitate redevelopment of properties without mandating full conformance with current standards, resulting in transformed downtown residential areas that are safer, more aesthetically pleasing and with significantly raised taxable values. Learn how they did that.
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Learn about an innovative Talent Retention Program in Michigan’s Thumb area in which a group of community foundations are incentivizing their college-educated youth to return home after obtaining a college degree.
And, of course, you won’t want to miss the Tuesday night dinner which will include food made with Michigan ingredients and a beer pairing from North Peak Brewery.
The conference provides an opportunity to showcase topics critical to rural development in a way that facilitates discussion of new ideas and moves ideas to action. You will be inspired to see the innovative ways that rural areas across the state are finding ways to drive economies, increase wealth of rural areas and improve the lives of rural residents. We hope to see you there! Register here.
Follow updates on twitter throughout the conference using #Miruralconf