July Update

1. Dozens of Community Leaders Trained
Twenty-seven people have completed the 3-day Leadership Plenty training to enhance their skills on managing conflict, building partnerships, and taking action. The Pew Partnership program is recognized nationally as one of the best development programs in the world: “The theory behind Leadership Plenty is simple – broad-based community leadership is critical for long-term, positive community change.” The leaders are already rolling up their sleeves and making change in Eveleth and the facilitators are willing to do another training – contact Heather if you’re interested: 748-2273 (day) or 744-2352 (evening).

2. Horizons in Eveleth & Gilbert Parades
Twenty-five Horizons volunteers handed out 300 informational cards about our programs, 300 stickers promoting soccer, 130 soccer balls of varying size, and 500 freezies. The float was great and fun times were had by all.

3. Soccer Started
Nearly 30 children are participating in a soccer program sponsored by Horizons. They are playing Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6p at the Franklin fields in July and Southside Park in August. Stop by and cheer on our young people and thank the volunteer coaches!

4. Four Horizons Participants Appointed to City Commissions; One Re-Appointed
Congratulations to Roberta Palen, Rosemary Mattson, Beth Peterson, and Sally Jirik on their appointments to the EDA Board, Cable Commission, Charter Commission, and Planning Commission respectively; and to Barb Coz for her reappointment to the Parks Commission. We appreciate their willingness to serve and are confident they will use their leadership positions to revitalize Eveleth.

5. Downtown Beautification – 4th Saturday (10a-Noon)
Please join the Eveleth Horizons monthly project of cleaning the downtown area. On the 4th Saturday of the month through October, individuals are encouraged to clean up the downtown area. The meeting point is at the Italian Bakery at 10a. (Meet early and purchase some of their great bakery goods). We will spend 2 hours cleaning up downtown, connecting with neighbors and building community spirit! Garbage bags and gloves will be provided.

6. Horizons Sponsors National Night Out
On Tuesday, August 7th, Eveleth is joining forces with thousands of communities on National Night Out. The crime and drug prevention event is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, and co-sponsored locally by Horizons with support from the Eveleth Police Department and the City of Eveleth. From 7:30p to 9:30p, residents will be coming together for a block party and potluck – there will be fun activities for the kids and good conversation for the adults. The following blocks are participating: 700 Block of Cleveland; 800 Block of Summit/Clay (meet in alley); 100 Block of Lincoln; and Michigan between Auburn and Norman).

7. Blog Recieves Recognition
The Northwest Area Foundation (sponsor of Horizons) shared the blogspot with the 180 communities they are working with across many states as a model for information-sharing. http://www.eveleth.blogspot.com/ To get articles or events posted or share comments about the site, email Liz at http://us.f607.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=kuoppala@yahoo.com or Heather at http://us.f607.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=heather.lindula@state.mn.us

8. Resource Center at City Hall
The Horizons Resources Committee signed up to work on a need identified in Study Circles and prioritized at the Action Forum. They collected brochures and pamphlets for a wide range of services available for people in the Eveleth area. Soon you will be able to find the information displayed prominently at City Hall.

9. Retail Trade Analysis Scheduled for Fall 2007
University of Minnesota Extension has agreed to complete an analysis on retail trade and tourism in Eveleth. The Retail Trade Analysis provides a comprehensive report for communities showing how their retail sector has done since 1990. The analysis compares revenue to that of surrounding communities, the state, and similar-sized communities. Local leaders can then use this information to support and grow retail businesses. More info at www.extension.umn.edu/retail

10. Much More to Come…
"An initiative is successful not because the people get together and make comprehensive change, but because the changes they make and the process it entailed somehow provoke an across-the-board response, so that the police start doing their job better, the services start getting delivered better, and the schools start to get better. If you're solely reliant on what the initiative does alone, then you never realize the vision." (Evaluator, Learning from the Early Work of Comprehensive Community Initiatives, The Aspen Institute, Voices from the Field, 1997)

We’ve had enthusiastic support from the City, the schools, business owners, and some local organizations and are moving steadily toward our inclusive community visioning session scheduled for November 1st. Contact Heather for more information about the various committees, meeting times, and the exciting initiatives in the works: 748-2273 (day) or 744-2352 (evening).

Leadership Plenty

Leadership Plenty training continues.... Here are some pictures to share the experiences last Monday. The day is broken up with a lot of group work in order to identify issues and plan action steps to make Eveleth a thriving community with the overall goal of eradicating poverty.

Terri shares her groups vision of a community:

Kate, Brooke, Kathy, and Rachel working on their groups community vision:

Jana, Amy, Kathy, and Mary during one of the many group discussions:

Beth and Lena diligently working on one of the tasks:

If you are interested in learning new leadership skills by attending one of these trainings, you can contact Heather. There is the option to hold more trainings if anyone is interested in participating.

Thanks for your help with the parade

This is a giant thank you to all who helped to make the parade such a success: (If someone was missed, it is with great regret as all the work was so greatly appreciated)

Rose J.
Rose J.'s friend
Sue A.
Kathy P.
Lorrie J.
Laurie K.
Tristan K.
Liz K.
Jennifer K.
Brian R.
Denise R.
Laura K.
Larry Z. - it was a great idea you came up with, thanks for the truck, trailer, and driving
Amy, Alan, Ali, and Kayla
Rachel
Kate
Stefanie, Ivy, Aidan
Ian
Val - thanks for the use of your garage and for all the assistance in gathering of supplies
Heather L.

Those helping with the parade distributed about 300 cards (information on how to get involved in the Horizons project and/or Leadership Plenty), 300 stickers with information on how to get involved in the soccer program, 130 soccer balls of varying size, and 500 freezies. The float was great and hopefully pictures will follow soon.

Thanks to all who made this such a great success. Children were interested in soccer, others are interested in coaching, connections were made to other groups/civic organizations/churches, and A LOT of people now know more about the Horizons Program.

Community Visioning

Heather was able to attend a meeting last Friday (6/29) where the discussion centered around what the next pieces will look like for Horizons.
Here's part of the plan:

1. Eveleth has been signed up for both a Tourism and Retail Trade Analysis. The people who do this from the University of MN Extension, will work with the Eveleth community. The goal is to identify what businesses may work here and in what ways we can capatalize on the tourism industry. The Horizons program will be paying for this, so Eveleth Horizons won't have to worry about raising money to do so. Eveleth Horizons is looking for 1 to 2 more people who are interested in working on this committee. We would really like to have at least one youth involved in the process. If interested please contact Heather or comment on this post. If you would like more information, you can visit these web sites: http://www.tourism.umn.edu/ or www.extension.umn.edu/retail/

2. November 1st of this year Eveleth Horizons will have a community visioning rally. This will be in the evening and the plan is for a speaker to come who has done extensive work with small towns and rural areas. Please mark your calendars for this exciting event. If you would like more information or to be on the planning committee, please contact Heather by phone, e-mail, or by commenting on this post. Also, this is a challenge to everyone: find at least 10 people to come to the rally. (Just imagine if each of the 140 participants in Study Circles found 10 people to come to the event, we would have 1,400 people there) The ultimate goal is less than half of that, so let's try hard to get the whole community to the event because the bigger the event is the better. If you have any connections to organizations/employers/civic groups/etc. and have a contact person, please let Heather know so information can be mailed to let them know of the event.

3. Kudos to all of the work that everyone does. It was so fun to share an update of the Eveleth Horizons and show all the amazing success for the program and the amazing reality of how quickly it was acheived. Thanks for all that each and everyone of you do. This program is a success because of you.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead