Grangeville, ID

Our Coordination System Action team met and held a conference call with Jackson, Minnesota to learn how they set up their Community Foundation. Also present at this meeting were Chin Le and Katie Cooper from neighboring community, Cottonwood. As we explore forming a community foundation/coalition, we are considering making the non-profit bigger than just the Grangeville community and inviting the Cottonwood Horizons to join us in our efforts. Our hope is to begin thinking more regionally rather than just as one community.

The converstaion with Jackson was very informative and inspiring. Jackson was a pilot Horizons community four years ago and are still going strong. They have spent a lot of time successfully developing leadership and structural change in their community. We will continue to glean information from them. Thank you Jackson!!!

Congrats to Mountain Mama of Kendrick/Juliaetta, she’s our weekly winner! Even though she took me to task for forgetting about those of you in remote areas with only dial-up internet access… she persevered after many grueling hours on the scavenger hunt! I will definitely keep in mind your technology limits in the future…

MJ has created a ‘how to blog’ handbook that is now available on our Horizons website at http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/coaches.htm at the very top of the page… Thanks MJ!

Also, for those communities that may be looking for a little more training, please contact MJ at merijoz@uidaho.edu / 208-885-8949 to see how she can help you.

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 29 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:
• Looking back, what is one (or more) skill or leadership trait you have developed from participating in Horizons (maybe from Study Circles or LeadershipPlenty or from the hands on work going on in your communities right now)? How has participation in the program changed you? What about your community? Are there specific examples of things happening in your community that wouldn’t have happened without Horizons?
• Bonus reflective question: How has the blogging experienced affected you? (please edit any inappropriate language, hahaha trust me, I feel your pain!!)

Scavenger Hunt Question:
• Which of the Idaho Horizons community blogs has information about April being Child Abuse Awareness month? This website also provides information about Youth Suicide Prevention.

The winner will receive:

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World: Building Your Resources for a Better Life by Philip E. DeVol
And

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, et al

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 22 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:

• What’s next in Horizons for your community? Are your Action Teams planning activities in the next 2 months? How do those activities relate to the 3 legs of Horizons: Poverty reduction, Leadership Development and Community Mobilization?

Scavenger Hunt Question:

• Let’s broaden our scavenger hunt world a little… Of the other Horizons states, which one has interesting information about using Chicken Tractors to help maintain community gardens? Check out the link section of the Idaho Horizons Blog that lists the blog addresses for Montana, NorthDakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa Horizons. Feel free to explore and be inspired by other community groups just like yours!

This week’s winner will receive a copy of each of the following books:
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World: Building Your Resources for a Better Life by Philip E. DeVol

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 15 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:

• What words of wisdom would you give to a community just starting a program like Horizons?
• Words of warning?
• What kind of changes in their community and its leadership might they expect?
• What kind of changes in themselves might they expect?

Scavenger Hunt Question:

• Which community’s chamber of commerce recently met with high school youth to work together to involve more youth in the community?

This week’s winner will get to choose ONE of the following books:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John Maxwell

Or

Leadership for the Common Good: Tackling Public Problems in a Shared-Power World by Barbara Crosby and John Bryson

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 8 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize.

Reflective Questions: What does the phrase ‘living in poverty’ mean to you? How has your definition of ‘poverty’ changed in the past year? Does your community think differently about poverty now? How can you tell?

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community (in partnership with ComBAT (Community Based Access to Technology)) will be having a FREE concert on April 23, 2008?

This week’s winner will get to choose ONE of the following books:

One Nation, Underprivileged, Why American Poverty Affects Us All / Mark Robert Rank

or

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community / Robert D. Putnam.

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 8 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize.

Reflective Questions: What does the phrase ‘living in poverty’ mean to you? How has your definition of ‘poverty’ changed in the past year? Does your community think differently about poverty now? How can you tell?

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community (in partnership with ComBAT (Community Based Access to Technology)) will be having a FREE concert on April 23, 2008?

This week’s winner will get to choose ONE of the following books:

One Nation, Underprivileged, Why American Poverty Affects Us All / Mark Robert Rank

or

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community / Robert D. Putnam.