2022 Panhandle Rural Fellows Update

Jenny Nixon Author

10/04/2024 Added

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The Alliance and Chadron Rural Fellows provide an update about their 2022 projects.

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[00:00:00.000]I think we'll go ahead and get started.
[00:00:04.120]You know, I see we have several of our Rural Fellows on today, and so we didn't have anything else in particular planned,
[00:00:13.020]but I know we've had a month since several of our Rural Fellows have reported to us.
[00:00:17.120]And I am just amazed at the amount of work that's getting done with these students, and they're just going gangbusters.
[00:00:26.220]So I think let's check in with them and ask questions.
[00:00:30.800]I think maybe is Helen Fagan in the Scotts Bluff area today? I'm not sure.
[00:00:37.860]She should be in Valentine today, I think.
[00:00:39.800]She's coming here this afternoon and going to Valentine tonight.
[00:00:42.920]Oh, okay.
[00:00:43.700]Yep.
[00:00:43.980]So she's somewhere in the panhandle, and she is the head of the program, so she's kind of checking up on everybody.
[00:00:51.840]And that's awesome that she has an opportunity to see our fellows in action.
[00:00:56.200]In the communities, and I think that's important for her to know how that works.
[00:01:00.280]Let's see.
[00:01:02.000]Sally's coming in.
[00:01:03.240]Okay.
[00:01:03.780]So I see that, and I know that the fellows in Alliance, and I got three of you, Elizabeth, Landon, and Eric are all in Alliance this summer.
[00:01:14.700]And I've heard from them a week or so ago, and my gosh, they are doing so many things.
[00:01:21.020]Chelsea, do you want to give a little overview of what?
[00:01:25.960]Your three Rural Fellows have been working on this summer?
[00:01:29.540]Well, sure, but they do it so much better than me.
[00:01:34.680]So we applied for the Rural Fellows to take a look at both physical and mental health here.
[00:01:46.480]And so they're both, well, all three of them, excuse me, we have two different projects going on,
[00:01:54.400]both of which are benefiting the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:01:58.320]However, we do have a little bit of Sand Hill Center for Hope sprinkled in.
[00:02:03.600]And so with that, I'll shoot it over to Liz and Landon to talk about what they've been working on.
[00:02:11.680]And they also had a successful volunteer event last evening, so they can touch on that.
[00:02:19.100]And then they can shoot it over to Eric.
[00:02:22.840]All right, so we started off our summer measuring the Alliance Recreation Center because they didn't have floor plans and they're looking to expand.
[00:02:35.040]So I've been taking those plans and looking at their schedules so that we can show the community how much overlap there is between the spaces and why they need to expand, hopefully bringing attention to that.
[00:02:49.360]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.280]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.280]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.280]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.280]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.300]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.340]And then I'm also working on a new plan for the Alliance Recreation Center.
[00:02:51.400]And then I'm also working on some maps of Alliance.
[00:02:54.420]So each map shows recreation, how much parks they have,
[00:02:59.360]all of the schools and what gym sizes they have and things like that.
[00:03:04.720]And then for the Sand Hill Center for Hope,
[00:03:07.480]we are starting to shift our focus at the end of the summer because we have a U-Care.
[00:03:13.800]And so for the summer, we decided to do a bake sale out in one of the Family Day events.
[00:03:20.680]So right now,
[00:03:21.260]we're going to be doing a bake sale out in one of the Family Day events.
[00:03:21.380]So right now,
[00:03:21.380]we're going to be doing a bake sale out in one of the Family Day events.
[00:03:21.380]So right now,
[00:03:21.380]we're going to be doing a bake sale out in one of the Family Day events.
[00:03:21.380]So right now,
[00:03:21.380]we're going to be doing a bake sale out in one of the Family Day events.
[00:03:21.380]So right now,
[00:03:21.380]we're having our Heritage Days,
[00:03:23.120]which is like carnival rides, all of that type of stuff.
[00:03:25.440]So yesterday, we did a bake sale with
[00:03:27.260]brownies, Rice Krispie bars, and cookies.
[00:03:29.440]And so we
[00:03:30.960]ended up getting a pretty good amount
[00:03:33.240]of money to give to the
[00:03:35.280]Sand Hill Center for Hope.
[00:03:36.400]$233.
[00:03:39.500]And who did
[00:03:43.340]all that baking?
[00:03:44.020]That's what I wondered.
[00:03:46.740]You went back to somewhere with
[00:03:48.680]stoves and ovens to work on that, did you not?
[00:03:51.360]I did.
[00:03:52.500]I mean, someone offered a giant
[00:03:55.540]kitchen in the museum, but
[00:03:57.580]I ended up going back home
[00:03:59.440]and so I was just like, you know what?
[00:04:00.960]We'll just bake in my own home
[00:04:03.660]easy enough.
[00:04:04.600]I walked in to help her package everything
[00:04:07.580]up and it smelled wonderful.
[00:04:09.060]So how many people did you have at this event?
[00:04:13.080]Oh, there were a lot.
[00:04:15.540]Yeah.
[00:04:16.340]I wouldn't even know how many people stopped by.
[00:04:19.620]They also had a little
[00:04:21.340]dance.
[00:04:22.000]So 7th Street
[00:04:25.220]Dance performed.
[00:04:27.200]They also did the Grand
[00:04:29.400]Marshal crowning
[00:04:31.040]and things. And then
[00:04:33.180]Family Night is a lot of our
[00:04:35.040]non-profits getting some
[00:04:37.100]information out about
[00:04:39.000]themselves,
[00:04:39.900]some kids games, face painting,
[00:04:43.020]the bake sale,
[00:04:45.100]things
[00:04:46.900]like that.
[00:04:48.040]So the other
[00:04:50.020]thing I'd like to add to
[00:04:51.320]what Landon has done with
[00:04:53.440]her mapping is a lot
[00:04:55.560]of our traveling teams. So the
[00:04:57.400]ultimate goal is the ARC has
[00:04:59.060]land to grow
[00:05:01.400]and as many
[00:05:03.400]of you communities
[00:05:04.980]realize
[00:05:05.940]sports, athletics are
[00:05:09.400]a big economic driver for your
[00:05:11.400]community. Well
[00:05:13.160]my communities
[00:05:14.740]typically are missing out
[00:05:17.360]on some of the more indoor
[00:05:19.240]sports. We have a lot of softball and baseball
[00:05:21.120]fields, things like that and teams coming in
[00:05:23.280]but we would like
[00:05:25.300]to grow. Our traveling teams
[00:05:27.420]are using our school facilities
[00:05:29.140]gems after hours, after
[00:05:31.420]school practice and
[00:05:33.180]where the arc has the land
[00:05:34.980]we're basically looking at the
[00:05:37.160]feasibility to, you know, does it make
[00:05:39.140]sense to grow and how do we grow
[00:05:40.900]and is it gym space?
[00:05:42.440]So a lot of what the girls are doing is
[00:05:44.780]inventorying all of that so
[00:05:46.960]it all makes sense and we can then
[00:05:48.840]either pursue that or
[00:05:50.920]pursue another plan
[00:05:51.940]but one of the things I did was
[00:05:54.820]what did we decide
[00:05:57.200]girls? Was it a firework instead
[00:05:59.020]of a flower?
[00:05:59.720]Showing by sport
[00:06:03.240]so if it's basketball,
[00:06:04.740]if it's volleyball, if it's
[00:06:06.800]baseball, whatever it is
[00:06:08.560]how many teams are going
[00:06:10.940]out of our community and
[00:06:12.860]where they're going and then
[00:06:14.920]we'll reverse it how many of those
[00:06:16.880]are actually coming in
[00:06:18.140]and so it looks
[00:06:20.720]like a little firework over Alliance
[00:06:22.760]where everyone's going
[00:06:24.920]so it's kind of neat.
[00:06:26.300]And is there a big difference
[00:06:28.960]between the going out versus the coming
[00:06:30.880]in? I'm assuming there is.
[00:06:32.220]There should be.
[00:06:35.220]I haven't made the
[00:06:36.860]second map yet but we're getting there
[00:06:38.800]so. Yeah, it'll
[00:06:40.680]definitely be, show
[00:06:42.660]a difference in those
[00:06:44.880]indoor like volleyball and basketball
[00:06:46.840]type sports
[00:06:48.580]so
[00:06:50.520]yeah. So you could
[00:06:52.720]filter that maybe by
[00:06:54.980]sport or by types of sports
[00:06:56.980]indoor versus outdoor, something that
[00:06:59.000]the community can come back to and
[00:07:00.980]really use as they go forward.
[00:07:02.800]Awesome.
[00:07:04.600]And this is
[00:07:06.400]really a base for helping
[00:07:08.940]Alliance be a healthy
[00:07:10.980]community and
[00:07:12.920]Eric, you're doing some things
[00:07:14.900]maybe that really help speak
[00:07:17.140]to that long term.
[00:07:20.320]Yeah, I do want to start off and
[00:07:22.240]apologize if it's really loud.
[00:07:23.720]Since Heritage Days is
[00:07:26.300]right here, there's going to be some banging
[00:07:28.080]and putting up of stuff, so if you hear anything,
[00:07:30.200]that's why. I have Pharaoh's
[00:07:32.540]Fury outside my front
[00:07:34.260]door, in case anyone
[00:07:36.340]wants to come ride.
[00:07:37.300]So
[00:07:39.960]for me, what
[00:07:42.260]I've been doing is just all sorts
[00:07:44.220]of little projects.
[00:07:45.000]I've been working
[00:07:47.440]continuously on the ARC's continuity
[00:07:50.120]planning. We held
[00:07:52.200]a, or I facilitated, I should
[00:07:54.300]say, a workshop with
[00:07:55.800]Chelsea and Sean
[00:07:58.340]and Mara and Revae
[00:07:59.900]where we
[00:08:02.320]discussed risk assessments
[00:08:04.540]for the ARC, for the
[00:08:06.340]facility, for
[00:08:07.440]fundraising, for keeping members, all
[00:08:10.200]that kind of stuff.
[00:08:10.900]So we did that in
[00:08:13.940]late June. And then
[00:08:16.480]one of the sort of side projects
[00:08:18.400]that Mara really wanted
[00:08:19.920]to discuss with me was
[00:08:21.640]we all arrived here
[00:08:24.400]shortly after the events in Buffalo
[00:08:26.180]and Uvalde. And so
[00:08:28.500]Mara really wanted to discuss
[00:08:30.420]some active shooter stuff. So
[00:08:32.240]I had a
[00:08:33.200]long discussion with her and Revae
[00:08:36.420]about how they could best
[00:08:38.380]plan for an active shooter
[00:08:40.360]in the future.
[00:08:41.200]Unfortunately, I don't have enough time here to help them actually
[00:08:44.420]plan something, but I gave them a lot
[00:08:46.520]of information to be able to set something
[00:08:48.400]up.
[00:08:49.720]And so we will be doing
[00:08:52.480]what's called a tabletop, which is
[00:08:54.460]another type of emergency preparedness
[00:08:56.620]exercise on the 19th.
[00:08:58.880]And that one, we're going to be
[00:09:00.660]doing some crisis communication
[00:09:02.500]planning, and we're going to be doing
[00:09:04.680]some business impact analysis
[00:09:06.100]to see what will happen with my
[00:09:08.460]scenario that I've created,
[00:09:09.920]which
[00:09:12.360]will be centered around Ghostbusters,
[00:09:14.420]a little bit of levity for this
[00:09:16.420]kind of stuff.
[00:09:16.920]And so that's
[00:09:19.520]continuing work with them,
[00:09:21.280]doing stuff, getting that stuff finished up.
[00:09:23.820]And then with the Sandhills Center,
[00:09:26.080]just like the ladies,
[00:09:27.560]I've been doing some stuff with them.
[00:09:29.700]I had a meeting with
[00:09:32.040]Nina and Alex about
[00:09:33.920]a week and a half ago
[00:09:34.900]where we did a small risk assessment
[00:09:37.840]for their current and future
[00:09:39.820]facility. And we also
[00:09:41.920]created a list of
[00:09:43.900]items to put into
[00:09:45.700]emergency kits for
[00:09:47.900]people who are newly homeless
[00:09:49.320]or, you know, have
[00:09:51.100]had problems with overdoses
[00:09:53.200]or wherever that they just
[00:09:55.340]can't, you know, they don't have enough
[00:09:57.240]just supplies to live,
[00:09:58.920]which hopefully the money
[00:10:01.220]that Elizabeth and Landon raised will be
[00:10:03.340]able to go towards creation of those
[00:10:05.180]emergency kits. And so
[00:10:07.260]that's kind of a really useful way that
[00:10:09.220]we're kind of combining a little bit of what we're
[00:10:11.220]doing. And then another thing
[00:10:13.340]that I'm doing with the Sandhill Center
[00:10:14.740]is that I have a sock drive
[00:10:16.940]going here in Alliance and
[00:10:19.120]Hemingford. It goes
[00:10:21.100]until the 31st of July.
[00:10:22.740]Socks are the least donated
[00:10:25.260]but most asked for items.
[00:10:26.740]And so I'm
[00:10:29.060]looking to get a bunch of new
[00:10:30.920]pairs of socks in so that
[00:10:32.940]they can add those also to the emergency
[00:10:34.860]kits. And so
[00:10:36.780]outside of that,
[00:10:38.820]the Ark and Sandhill Center,
[00:10:41.080]I'm doing a little bit of work with PPHD,
[00:10:43.220]Panhandle Public Health.
[00:10:44.760]I'm going
[00:10:46.700]tomorrow up to Shadron
[00:10:48.920]to do a presentation
[00:10:50.400]on preparedness in the
[00:10:52.600]worksite. They have
[00:10:54.760]a worksite wellness event that
[00:10:56.620]they're doing. And then
[00:10:58.560]on Monday, I'm doing an internal
[00:11:00.640]staff presentation for
[00:11:02.540]traveling around the Panhandle
[00:11:04.620]with the threat of severe
[00:11:06.560]weather and how to prepare for that. So
[00:11:08.540]all sorts
[00:11:10.740]of little things.
[00:11:11.260]Excellent. Do you have questions
[00:11:14.760]for our students?
[00:11:18.720]How do you like Alliance so far?
[00:11:23.160]I've really enjoyed it so far. Everyone's
[00:11:28.740]so nice and welcoming.
[00:11:29.800]I don't know. When you walk down
[00:11:32.660]Lincoln, no one talks
[00:11:34.600]to you, but out here, everyone's smiling at you,
[00:11:36.720]asking how you're doing.
[00:11:38.100]So it feels really good.
[00:11:40.660]Yeah.
[00:11:41.280]I'm enjoying the
[00:11:44.240]very dry air.
[00:11:45.820]Just
[00:11:48.520]like the ladies, they went back to Lincoln. I went back to
[00:11:50.340]Omaha. Just arriving
[00:11:52.600]in, I'm like, I just need
[00:11:54.240]some floaties or something just to
[00:11:56.480]walk around here because it's so wet.
[00:11:58.120]Absolutely.
[00:12:01.400]Yeah, you ought to try it after you've
[00:12:04.440]lived out here for 40 years.
[00:12:05.840]It's awful
[00:12:08.220]to go back.
[00:12:08.780]All right. I see
[00:12:14.240]we also have our two
[00:12:16.160]Rural Fellows from Chadron online
[00:12:18.320]we have Ben and Faith.
[00:12:20.240]What have you guys been up to this
[00:12:22.340]last month?
[00:12:22.860]We've been up to a lot
[00:12:28.280]to put it shortly.
[00:12:29.200]You know, we're working with
[00:12:32.180]Carrie at Northwest Nebraska Tourism
[00:12:34.300]and then we're doing some stuff
[00:12:36.220]with ESU and also with Jenny
[00:12:38.040]at the Extension Office.
[00:12:39.440]We've been staying pretty busy, but
[00:12:42.300]tourism season is very much upon
[00:12:44.240]us, so we just finished helping
[00:12:46.180]out with Fair Trade Days last week.
[00:12:48.120]And yeah, putting together different
[00:12:49.640]projects. One of the big ones that I've
[00:12:52.120]been working on lately is the Barn
[00:12:54.120]Quilt Trail. We're having different
[00:12:56.000]businesses throughout Harrison and
[00:12:57.880]Crawford sign up to participate in
[00:12:59.880]this trail with us, and we're currently
[00:13:02.120]working on putting together orders for
[00:13:04.120]the businesses based on the designs
[00:13:06.120]they request so then we can send them
[00:13:08.120]to an artist who will create them for us.
[00:13:10.120]So I've been creating a lot of digital
[00:13:12.120]versions of those designs lately,
[00:13:14.120]and we're working on putting together
[00:13:15.920]orders for the businesses based on
[00:13:17.920]the designs that we've created lately,
[00:13:19.720]which has been fun.
[00:13:21.720]With the ESU, I've also been working
[00:13:23.720]on making a lot of different mental
[00:13:25.720]health brochures to be distributed
[00:13:27.720]throughout ESU 13.
[00:13:29.720]I think there's either four or five
[00:13:31.720]of them that I've created so far.
[00:13:33.720]And they cover a lot of different
[00:13:35.720]things like emergency protective
[00:13:37.720]custody, different mental health
[00:13:39.720]services in the area.
[00:13:41.720]One of them is just like, hey,
[00:13:43.720]what is mental health?
[00:13:45.720]What do all these things mean?
[00:13:47.720]Yeah, just helping people understand
[00:13:49.720]things like that.
[00:13:51.720]So yeah, we've been working on that.
[00:13:53.720]We've also been distributing tourism
[00:13:55.720]surveys at area
[00:13:57.720]events like Bands on Bordeaux,
[00:13:59.720]Fair Trade Days events
[00:14:01.720]at the state parks,
[00:14:03.720]out at Fort Robinson, all of that
[00:14:05.720]to hope to get some more
[00:14:07.720]responses for the survey that was created
[00:14:09.720]last year by the Rural Fellows.
[00:14:11.720]And yeah,
[00:14:13.720]after we kind of get
[00:14:15.720]some more responses and stuff,
[00:14:17.520]we'll compile that data and put together
[00:14:19.320]a report based on that.
[00:14:21.320]We also
[00:14:23.320]helped with the scavenger hunt
[00:14:25.320]at Fruit Trade Days. We
[00:14:27.320]kind of came up with an idea for that. Kerry
[00:14:29.320]put a lot of it together, but we
[00:14:31.320]helped be some creative juices for
[00:14:33.320]that.
[00:14:35.320]Yeah. Yeah, on top of
[00:14:37.320]that, also we
[00:14:39.320]created
[00:14:41.320]interactive maps for
[00:14:43.320]the Fort Robinson
[00:14:45.320]Museum, like to do
[00:14:47.320]walking tour for
[00:14:49.320]Fort Robinson, Crawford, and
[00:14:51.320]also making a farmer's trail,
[00:14:53.320]which makes it
[00:14:55.320]easier for
[00:14:57.320]people who comes to Chadron
[00:14:59.320]and they really know
[00:15:01.320]they want something to guide them. So
[00:15:03.320]that's also three
[00:15:05.320]other projects that
[00:15:07.320]we had to do
[00:15:09.320]map for AMSA.
[00:15:11.320]And we are way through
[00:15:13.320]them, so that's pretty much it.
[00:15:15.320]Yeah. We've been
[00:15:17.120]staying busy.
[00:15:19.120]And how do you guys like
[00:15:21.120]Chadron?
[00:15:23.120]It's a lot of fun.
[00:15:25.120]It's a lot of fun. A lot of, we got a chance
[00:15:27.120]to do, this
[00:15:29.120]last month, we got a chance to do
[00:15:31.120]some western activities like
[00:15:33.120]riding horses, rocking,
[00:15:35.120]so a lot of fun activities here.
[00:15:37.120]So, yeah.
[00:15:39.120]Yeah. Yep, they had
[00:15:41.120]requested not just riding horses
[00:15:43.120]but practicing roping.
[00:15:46.920]I was very good at it.
[00:15:48.920]Ben picked it up pretty quickly.
[00:15:50.920]Awesome, awesome.
[00:15:54.920]So these students will also have maps
[00:15:56.920]for the community to come back to
[00:15:58.920]and to apply to, this is actually
[00:16:00.920]applied to tourism
[00:16:02.920]activities, and I think our wayfinding
[00:16:04.920]is very important in our
[00:16:06.920]tourism communities.
[00:16:08.920]It's huge, and Carrie's worked on that
[00:16:10.920]and these will complement what she's already
[00:16:12.920]got in place very nicely.
[00:16:14.720]Awesome.
[00:16:16.720]And the mental health pieces for the school,
[00:16:18.720]I know they're always
[00:16:20.720]working on that, and it's
[00:16:22.720]been great to have the students
[00:16:24.720]able to provide
[00:16:26.720]or create. And we asked for somebody
[00:16:28.720]with creative juices, and boy did we get
[00:16:30.720]that with Faith. She just loves
[00:16:32.720]creating those visuals
[00:16:34.720]and trying to get her
[00:16:36.720]brochures so that they
[00:16:38.720]look very appealing, and
[00:16:40.720]yet convey the proper information.
[00:16:42.720]So they've been out
[00:16:44.720]and all over.
[00:16:46.520]Questions for Ben or Faith?
[00:16:48.520]How many do you have signed up for
[00:16:54.520]your barn quilt?
[00:16:56.520]I think
[00:16:58.520]we're at 33
[00:17:00.520]right now. I'm still
[00:17:02.520]waiting to hear back from a couple of
[00:17:04.520]businesses, but 33 so far.
[00:17:06.520]So we'll add 33 barn quilt
[00:17:10.520]little structures, and that's
[00:17:14.520]in both Harrison and
[00:17:16.320]Crawford, right?
[00:17:18.320]Yeah. And they're pretty
[00:17:20.320]evenly distributed between the two towns
[00:17:22.320]actually, about the same amount, so
[00:17:24.320]it's pretty good. So you
[00:17:26.320]guys, did you do all of the
[00:17:28.320]meeting of the business owners and
[00:17:30.320]pitching to them?
[00:17:32.320]Well, we went
[00:17:34.320]around Harrison with Carrie
[00:17:36.320]last month and talked
[00:17:38.320]to people in person,
[00:17:40.320]but at that point we were going to host a
[00:17:42.320]workshop, so then I ended up calling
[00:17:44.320]all the businesses
[00:17:46.120]again, calling them back and being like,
[00:17:48.120]"Hey, this is what's changed."
[00:17:50.120]So called the businesses in Harrison,
[00:17:52.120]called the businesses in Crawford,
[00:17:54.120]and then, yeah,
[00:17:56.120]emailing and word of
[00:17:58.120]mouth kind of helped get it out, too. I know Jenny
[00:18:00.120]talked to some people about it as well,
[00:18:02.120]so that was really helpful. But
[00:18:04.120]yeah, we've done a lot of the pitching
[00:18:06.120]ourselves, and
[00:18:08.120]yeah.
[00:18:10.120]How did that feel? Was that kind of a new activity
[00:18:12.120]for you guys?
[00:18:14.120]Yeah.
[00:18:15.920]I'm not much of a
[00:18:17.920]phone call person, so
[00:18:19.920]definitely pushed me outside of my comfort
[00:18:21.920]zone, cold calling all of these businesses.
[00:18:23.920]A funny thing that happened,
[00:18:25.920]I kept running into, people would just let
[00:18:27.920]me ring and leave a message, because I have
[00:18:29.920]a weird area code. I'm not a
[00:18:31.920]308 number out here, I'm a 402.
[00:18:33.920]So people are like, "Oh, it's just a spam
[00:18:35.920]caller," when it was really me. So
[00:18:37.920]I ended up calling people multiple times, being like,
[00:18:39.920]"Hey, I'm not a spam
[00:18:41.920]caller," trying to get
[00:18:43.920]your participation. But
[00:18:45.720]also, having Kerry
[00:18:47.720]go with us when you were pitching
[00:18:49.720]the idea gave us some form
[00:18:51.720]of credibility, because nobody
[00:18:53.720]-- many people
[00:18:55.720]didn't know who we were, so
[00:18:57.720]having Kerry along
[00:18:59.720]with us helped really
[00:19:01.720]getting the idea to them.
[00:19:03.720]Awesome, awesome.
[00:19:07.720]Anything else that maybe has
[00:19:09.720]stretched any of you
[00:19:11.720]students that are trying things
[00:19:13.720]that are new? What have you found that maybe
[00:19:15.520]skills that you're thinking you
[00:19:17.520]are picking up or would like to pursue?
[00:19:19.520]I've never had to introduce
[00:19:27.520]myself to this many people in my life.
[00:19:29.520]So, just kind of
[00:19:31.520]getting
[00:19:33.520]just my introduction,
[00:19:35.520]our project introduction down.
[00:19:37.520]It's still something I'm working on just because
[00:19:39.520]it's like, you know, I've never had to
[00:19:41.520]explain a project
[00:19:43.520]in 60 seconds.
[00:19:45.320]Before. So,
[00:19:47.320]that's been kind of a learning curve.
[00:19:49.320]Another thing is that last
[00:19:51.320]night we were meeting all the people we had
[00:19:53.320]already met, and I'm like, I know your
[00:19:55.320]face, but where did
[00:19:57.320]we meet you and what are you working
[00:19:59.320]for? And so we would like,
[00:20:01.320]so I remember them at this
[00:20:03.320]meeting. I swear she was across
[00:20:05.320]from me, but what did she do
[00:20:07.320]again? So it was really funny
[00:20:09.320]to realize that last night.
[00:20:11.320]Yeah.
[00:20:13.320]Welcome to small communities.
[00:20:15.120]Awesome.
[00:20:17.120]Yeah. The elevator pitch thing.
[00:20:19.120]I think that is a valuable
[00:20:21.120]skill.
[00:20:23.120]We practice it as, you know,
[00:20:25.120]educators all the time. What is
[00:20:27.120]your pitch and can you give it in 60
[00:20:29.120]seconds? Excellent
[00:20:31.120]skills. Anything else?
[00:20:33.120]I think it's been quite useful for me anyway
[00:20:37.120]to kind of get that,
[00:20:39.120]I don't know exactly what to call it, but let's
[00:20:41.120]say nervousness with like meeting sort of
[00:20:43.120]like community leaders and like talking
[00:20:44.920]to them and trying to do what, you know,
[00:20:46.920]Elizabeth and Landon are talking about, do that pitch.
[00:20:48.920]And
[00:20:50.920]so it's sort of, it's a little bit easier
[00:20:52.920]to do it out here because, you know,
[00:20:54.920]everyone does everything. And
[00:20:56.920]so it kind of
[00:20:58.920]makes you realize that these sort
[00:21:00.920]of leaders aren't like
[00:21:02.920]sort of someone on some other
[00:21:04.920]plane, you know, they're just
[00:21:06.920]regular people too. And so
[00:21:08.920]that's going to be quite useful in my opinion
[00:21:10.920]to be able to translate that
[00:21:12.920]into sort of either bigger cities
[00:21:14.720]or just state,
[00:21:16.720]federal, global levels.
[00:21:18.720]You know, Eric, I think
[00:21:20.720]that's a really good point. As much
[00:21:22.720]as you guys
[00:21:24.720]are out of your comfort zone,
[00:21:26.720]people are the same. I mean,
[00:21:28.720]my dad used to say that,
[00:21:30.720]you know, people all put their pants on
[00:21:32.720]one leg at a time. And whether
[00:21:34.720]it's President Biden or
[00:21:36.720]the mayor of
[00:21:38.720]Chadron,
[00:21:40.720]the
[00:21:42.720]ability to talk to them
[00:21:44.520]and look them in the eye, have a
[00:21:46.520]conversation that is respectful
[00:21:48.520]and meaningful and
[00:21:50.520]you're not fumbling around, this sort of
[00:21:52.520]practice you will find is invaluable
[00:21:54.520]when it gets to the next level.
[00:21:56.520]And it'll also apply
[00:21:58.520]to whoever you work for in the future
[00:22:00.520]or work with in the future.
[00:22:02.520]It's not just about meeting
[00:22:04.520]quote-unquote important or famous
[00:22:06.520]people. It's really about people's
[00:22:08.520]skills. And so I'm glad
[00:22:10.520]that you've mentioned that that's
[00:22:12.520]been helpful to you
[00:22:14.320]because I'm afraid there's an awful
[00:22:16.320]lot of folks who don't even recognize how
[00:22:18.320]necessary those skills are.
[00:22:20.320]So good for you guys.
[00:22:22.320]Awesome, awesome.
[00:22:28.320]So this will be the last time we
[00:22:30.320]have an opportunity to talk to our
[00:22:32.320]students. Anything
[00:22:34.320]else you want to add or throw in
[00:22:36.320]or ideas for your
[00:22:38.320]communities with a set
[00:22:40.320]of students in the future?
[00:22:44.120]I will just pitch one tiny thing, which is that Russell at UNL, the communications specialist for the Rural Fellows, did do a small article on the four UNMC students.
[00:22:59.120]So if you want to go check that out, I think it is on their news release on the Rural Prosperity website, I believe. You can read about the four of us.
[00:23:13.920]And where are the other three UNMC students?
[00:23:18.920]Dr. Grace is in Ballantyne, Dr. Debbie is in Wakefield, and then Arden is actually down in Scotts Bluff.
[00:23:27.920]Excellent.
[00:23:31.920]How about Scotts Bluff or Gehring, checking in, do you have anything about your students that you'd like to share?
[00:23:40.920]See who's here.
[00:23:43.720]I don't know if Karen's been working with them.
[00:23:47.720]We have a creative district meeting tomorrow in Scotts Bluff so hopefully I'll get an update from them that I know they've been going around to businesses with surveys for the creative district.
[00:23:58.720]And hopefully they've made some good progress on getting input from those downtown business owners.
[00:24:05.720]And Jamie you are working with that creative district in what is it shine county or is it in Sydney Yep.
[00:24:13.520]So we actually have a public forum today. I will have to leave a little bit early from this meeting because I have to be there at about 1045.
[00:24:22.520]But we're hoping to get some input from the community on what they would like to see as far as public art and infrastructure projects that are needed in downtown Sydney to draw more people downtown and especially young
[00:24:36.840]creative types, keep young people in our community. So any input you guys get from
[00:24:45.510]Alliance and Shadron, I'm sure is helpful in all of the communities across the state
[00:24:50.730]and things that you as college students would like to see in communities is helpful to us.
[00:24:57.850]Yes, we've been working on that in Shadron as well. And this is a new designation, I believe,
[00:25:04.710]from the Nebraska Arts Council. Is that right? It is. And communities first have to submit a
[00:25:10.950]letter of intent. Once that is reviewed by the Arts Council, then they're invited to submit a
[00:25:17.370]workbook, which is, I think, about a 40-page document. One of my rural fellows, Martha,
[00:25:24.690]is working on some of the demographic pieces for me, just grabbing that information online,
[00:25:30.130]because that's kind of a time-consuming process. And it's been very helpful to have her working
[00:25:34.590]on that. Even though she can't be here in person, that's something she can do remotely.
[00:25:39.090]And then once the workbook is submitted, the Arts Council reviews it and does an in-person visit.
[00:25:49.070]And if they approve their strategic plan, then the community can receive $10,000.
[00:25:55.670]After a year, once they show that they've made progress on that plan and have some really good
[00:26:04.470]goals, they can submit an application for up to $250,000 for specific projects.
[00:26:11.390]And no match is required. So this is a pretty good program for communities. They just want to
[00:26:17.950]really make sure that they're getting buy-in from the whole community, that it's not just
[00:26:23.570]the city leading the project. So they're trying to get as many people involved as they can
[00:26:28.450]in each community. And if that's something other towns want to look at, let us
[00:26:34.350]know. Both Jenny and I have been kind of working on this process with different communities, so
[00:26:39.570]we have a little bit of guidance we can give you. Yes, there are several different things to know
[00:26:45.990]about that, and it's good to jump in on a new program, but sometimes it's great to have
[00:26:52.130]just a little bit of people in front of you to kind of guide you. Do you know, Jamie, if there is
[00:26:57.190]any limit on the number of designations they may do or granting they might do? I have not heard
[00:27:04.230]anything. I haven't heard anything either. And actually, I met with Becky. I don't remember her
[00:27:12.790]last name. She's a consultant with both the Arts Council and with the Nebraska Community Foundation.
[00:27:20.110]She's helping do some of the asset mapping piece for the creative districts. And she said she sat
[00:27:26.390]in on some of the one-on-one conversations they've had with communities to go through the application.
[00:27:31.750]And she explained some
[00:27:34.110]of the rubric, which was helpful, and also said that the Arts Council really wants to give away
[00:27:39.090]this money. So they will do their best to certify as many communities as they can and will really
[00:27:46.710]work with you. Even if they don't think your application is very strong, they'll give you
[00:27:50.610]suggestions on how to improve it. Well, that's excellent. Is there any reason to share, any way
[00:27:59.150]to share that rubric? Because I'm thinking, Carrie, have you seen that? She is
[00:28:03.990]supposed to email it to me, but she said the three most important things they grade on
[00:28:09.130]are capacity, impact, and inclusion. And they really want to see a strong storytelling aspect
[00:28:17.330]to it. And that you can include as many appendices as you would like with extra documents.
[00:28:25.650]Wow, that's great news. Is there a time frame on these, or are they just taking them whenever?
[00:28:33.870]As far as I know, they're just taking them whenever. And I think only one has actually
[00:28:40.170]been certified so far. I believe it's Ashland. So I might need to double check on that.
[00:28:45.750]And there are five or six that are a little bit further along, I think, and are about done with
[00:28:53.190]their workbook or have finished their workbook and are still in that meeting phase. You know,
[00:28:58.990]Jenny, I don't remember the exact time frame on this, but some of this additional money, like
[00:29:03.750]the $250 that you can apply for, I think in years out will come through the CCCFF funding mechanism
[00:29:12.590]in Nebraska. So there will continue to be competition for those dollars. And I know a
[00:29:19.270]portion of it for like two years, I believe it is, is guaranteed to come to this program. So it
[00:29:26.810]depends a little bit on the income in that fund as it relates to how many applicants will get funded.
[00:29:33.630]That's good to know, Deb.
[00:29:34.670]Excellent. Other questions?
[00:29:40.090]Other programs that you're kind of thinking about?
[00:29:45.830]Yep, Jamie's leaving. Thank you very much, Jamie. I just want to know if the
[00:30:03.510]fellows that have been in Chadron, if you participated in the World Championship Buffalo
[00:30:09.790]Chip Throw over the weekend. I didn't see your names on the list of winners, and so I was
[00:30:16.270]concerned that you didn't get the opportunity to get up there and chuck the buffalo chips.
[00:30:22.430]Yeah, well, we actually did not because both of us had weddings back,
[00:30:27.130]well, mine was in eastern Nebraska, Ben's was in Washington, so we had to leave and didn't get to
[00:30:33.390]participate in it, which was a real bummer. Okay, well, you know, there's always next year.
[00:30:38.310]Yes, there is next year. And I will mention, too, that over fur trade days,
[00:30:46.250]we actually had a little rural fellows reunion of sorts. Faith, of course, was here working
[00:30:53.830]with Scavenger Hunt with me, and Chantel from last year, who was in Chadron last year, was here,
[00:30:59.990]and then Tyra, who was here two years ago,
[00:31:03.270]actually came on vacation, too, and so we all met and took a photo of all of us together, so
[00:31:10.990]all our rural fellows from the past had come back to visit us.
[00:31:14.930]And Chantel was seriously considering that buffalo chip. I talked with her that morning
[00:31:21.450]at the parade, and I'm not sure if she stayed that long or not, but it was, she's like, wait,
[00:31:26.690]where do they do this? How do they get buffalo chips? Well, out of the pasture,
[00:31:30.910]and it'll be right in front of the courthouse.
[00:31:33.150]So we had a lot of fun catching up. It was great.
[00:31:35.610]And I actually,
[00:31:38.170]I've seen rural fellows go back and work in those communities later on.
[00:31:42.370]I'm thinking soon we'll have them moving to the communities. You know,
[00:31:46.650]this is, this is a program that,
[00:31:48.690]that really helps cement young people with a great community foundation.
[00:31:54.310]And so I love getting them introduced to something different from their home.
[00:32:00.090]And even faith keeps telling,
[00:32:03.030]it's different than, you know, my Northeastern Nebraska area. It's like,
[00:32:07.990]yes, we are, we are different.
[00:32:09.650]And so that's great that you're getting those experiences.
[00:32:12.750]Anything else you want to bring forward today?
[00:32:17.170]Well, I'll, I'll mention something.
[00:32:27.790]So we had Cliff Mesner out and I think he went to Scott's Bluff Gearing as well.
[00:32:32.910]And did his pitch on starting investment clubs in your community.
[00:32:36.610]And we're actually going to have a meeting in Hemmingford this evening.
[00:32:41.370]As kind of a follow-up to that.
[00:32:44.970]And have those that listen to Cliff kind of present it to a little bit broader group.
[00:32:49.730]Of course, yes, we're in the midst of harvest, but there's never a good time.
[00:32:54.710]But the best time is, you know, just got to jump in.
[00:32:59.150]And then we'll do one for Alliance as well.
[00:33:02.790]Here in the next couple of weeks, too.
[00:33:04.970]The other thing I'd mentioned, and I know Scott's left gearing.
[00:33:09.930]I think you guys have done it.
[00:33:11.410]Department of Labor.
[00:33:12.790]We're going to try to drive through job fair in late August.
[00:33:17.430]See how it goes, because, of course, everyone's hiring.
[00:33:21.830]And so we're going to give it a shot and see how it goes.
[00:33:32.670]Yeah, that is that's something that I visited with Pat, the Department of Labor gal, a little
[00:33:41.570]bit about last month when I was at a meeting that she was at.
[00:33:45.630]And I mean, I'm curious to see how it works in alliance.
[00:33:51.010]And I don't know how I think they had great response in Scottsworth and Gearing, but I
[00:33:57.310]think it was really a little more closely related to the whole COVID.
[00:34:01.290]Nobody wanted to come in.
[00:34:02.550]And, you know, and talk face to face with people that just drive by, get the information
[00:34:06.170]in their car and go on.
[00:34:07.350]But I'm curious to see how it works, because we, too, like most communities in the Panhandle
[00:34:14.690]and across the nation, are having trouble with just the really basic things.
[00:34:19.710]Everything from, as you know, lifeguards in the summertime to, you know, docs and professors
[00:34:27.070]and whatnot at the highest professional level.
[00:34:29.970]So how?
[00:34:32.430]How do we get the word out?
[00:34:33.550]I will share just very quickly, Con Marshall, who is sort of an icon in Chadron
[00:34:38.810]and has written for the newspaper for years, sports coverage,
[00:34:42.950]but anything to do with history of the community, he's there.
[00:34:46.470]He reported that Chadron had once again been named in some national,
[00:34:51.550]I think it was Fox News website, as the number one place to live in Nebraska.
[00:34:57.810]And he took the time to point out various other reports,
[00:35:02.310]where Chadron has scored very highly on livability
[00:35:05.770]and recreational opportunities and all those things.
[00:35:09.870]And we get those about every couple of years,
[00:35:12.270]somebody names Chadron as a great place to live.
[00:35:15.090]And I'm trying to figure out how we capitalize on that,
[00:35:19.950]because it is literally everything from those who want to be alone,
[00:35:23.950]to those who want to be in a community and be connected,
[00:35:26.710]and those who want a college,
[00:35:28.470]and those who want the kind of recreation we have.
[00:35:32.190]So how do we as a community in the panhandle,
[00:35:35.870]how do we better sell that to the people who want to come out here?
[00:35:40.470]And I think it's something that we skirted around discussing several years ago
[00:35:47.350]about a panhandle-wide effort on workforce recruitment.
[00:35:52.110]That's a little difficult to do geographically.
[00:35:55.810]However, given the way people work these days,
[00:36:02.070]it's an idea whose time has come that we can better work together
[00:36:06.590]as a region to get bodies here to fill a variety of jobs
[00:36:13.790]that we are all having trouble filling.
[00:36:15.470]I've actually had a couple of students, well, they're just out of college now,
[00:36:31.950]hearing about the hiring processes because they can't seem to get
[00:36:35.730]some of the larger companies very far, and nobody answers their questions
[00:36:39.650]after the first two interviews.
[00:36:41.350]You'd think that would be pretty good, and then suddenly they're gone.
[00:36:44.630]And so I don't know if there's something else going on bigger,
[00:36:48.390]but we need to show people that we're not playing those games.
[00:36:53.150]We have real jobs, and that would be awesome.
[00:36:56.990]We did talk about that about two or three years ago, I think.
[00:37:01.830]And so if you're interested in pursuing that conversation,
[00:37:04.950]I'm going to put those down.
[00:37:06.590]And what would that look like?
[00:37:10.770]How would we, you know, how can we structure that?
[00:37:12.890]That will take a little bit of thought.
[00:37:14.270]I'll probably give each of you a call, and we'll start thinking about it.
[00:37:18.670]I would say, Jenny, didn't you send us out like a,
[00:37:22.310]I don't remember who it was, and I'm not at my office, obviously,
[00:37:25.670]to pull it up, but there was like a recruit,
[00:37:29.330]something like recruit 308 or not.
[00:37:31.710]Well, not 308.
[00:37:32.390]It was like Minnesota or Michigan had some sort of talent,
[00:37:38.670]or it was like talent and then whatever their area code was.
[00:37:42.370]I think, didn't you send that out?
[00:37:44.570]I probably did.
[00:37:45.910]Or was it Jason, maybe?
[00:37:48.090]I have a bookmark.
[00:37:50.670]I do know that.
[00:37:52.410]And it seemed more of a regional selling,
[00:37:58.250]all those things that like Deb just mentioned, and you too.
[00:38:01.590]Is it schools?
[00:38:03.050]Is it wanting to be yourself?
[00:38:05.790]Is it wanting to be plugged in?
[00:38:07.910]That type of thing.
[00:38:08.970]So yeah, I'll have to look it up too.
[00:38:11.630]And I think we even talked at one time, Chelsea,
[00:38:14.690]about developers who are actually recruiting talent.
[00:38:20.610]And I think it might've gone back to the years
[00:38:23.490]when Darla Hagen was at TCD.
[00:38:28.990]We talked about a joint,
[00:38:31.470]a trip somewhere to really like we used to do in tourism
[00:38:35.470]where you'd go and visit every travel agency
[00:38:38.090]in the Denver market or on the Eastern end of the state,
[00:38:42.450]they would go to Minneapolis or Chicago or Kansas city
[00:38:45.230]to just get the word out that we are in fact serious about it.
[00:38:51.450]And Jenny, that's as good of explanation of it
[00:38:54.690]as I've heard is that we're not casting this wide net
[00:38:59.370]to get anybody that ever wanted a job.
[00:39:01.350]What we're talking about are the kinds of jobs
[00:39:04.430]and the kinds of lifestyle that we can offer here
[00:39:06.910]as opposed to be at all things to everybody like Indeed
[00:39:10.930]or some of the big boys.
[00:39:12.790]But I do think that would be an interesting project
[00:39:18.410]to try to build and maybe something
[00:39:21.210]that we could get some foundation support
[00:39:25.670]or something at some level to try to move forward
[00:39:28.910]because it really takes a dedicated team
[00:39:31.230]or a dedicated person or two
[00:39:32.270]that's doing this all the time
[00:39:34.450]as opposed to one more meeting
[00:39:36.770]that each one of us that do chamber
[00:39:39.170]and or economic development go to every month.
[00:39:41.730]I mean, it's gotta be a little more to it.
[00:39:45.590]Well, and I know when we heard
[00:39:48.410]the Good Life is calling that pitch
[00:39:50.850]at Valentine at our conference.
[00:39:52.470]And I love the fact that we could go in
[00:39:54.570]and use those short films and commercials and photos
[00:40:01.110]just for our own use.
[00:40:02.950]But yeah, absolutely.
[00:40:04.510]Because I think it was Cheryl that put in that plug.
[00:40:07.910]Yeah, I just shared it
[00:40:08.990]so that that could be coordinated with our team.
[00:40:14.330]And they're certainly there to support
[00:40:16.550]any kind of regional effort.
[00:40:18.270]So just wanted to get that out there
[00:40:21.170]for those who may not have seen it.
[00:40:22.870]And those are really, really well done.
[00:40:26.730]As a matter of fact, I kind of,
[00:40:30.990]meeting the governor the last time he was here
[00:40:32.650]about why there was no more money put into utilizing those
[00:40:37.870]and making better use of what we've already paid for
[00:40:42.270]because there's nothing else in the budget
[00:40:44.290]for continuing the Good Life is Calling program.
[00:40:48.090]So the other thing I might mention is
[00:40:51.290]we make a concerted effort to sort of cross that line
[00:40:56.790]as it relates to tourism attraction as well.
[00:40:59.930]But we're looking,
[00:41:00.870]to invite people to come to Northwest Nebraska,
[00:41:05.110]for example,
[00:41:05.850]if you see our ad in Carrie's yearly magazine
[00:41:09.790]that she puts out,
[00:41:10.690]it's all about,
[00:41:11.850]you can live here where most people just get their vacation.
[00:41:14.790]And that's kind of the push that we've used.
[00:41:18.250]And I think that could work panhandle-wide as well.
[00:41:21.370]That is a great set of notes.
[00:41:30.750]And Cheryl, I'm glad you brought that,
[00:41:33.210]reminded us of that good life is calling
[00:41:36.410]because that is very well done.
[00:41:38.430]And how can we do that, use that,
[00:41:40.650]especially in a regional way?
[00:41:42.430]That's awesome.
[00:41:43.150]And I wouldn't mind just giving a little bit
[00:41:47.270]of an update from DED.
[00:41:48.370]It's a little bit of a circus over here,
[00:41:50.550]as some of you might imagine.
[00:41:52.330]We've got $750 million of new funds
[00:41:56.510]and 24 plus new programs
[00:41:58.270]that we're trying to stand up right now with.
[00:42:00.630]Um, no new staff yet.
[00:42:02.850]So the ARPA funds,
[00:42:06.490]we do have a website set up for that.
[00:42:08.570]I'll, I'll jump in there
[00:42:10.410]and put that in the chat here in a minute.
[00:42:11.890]So you can keep track of those programs
[00:42:14.650]as they move forward.
[00:42:16.650]We are working with a consulting company.
[00:42:19.070]We're just finalizing that contract
[00:42:21.070]to get program manuals, admin manuals,
[00:42:24.270]you know, applications,
[00:42:25.310]those kinds of things rolling.
[00:42:27.110]There is a new allocation of role work
[00:42:30.510]force housing funds.
[00:42:31.830]The match has been reduced to 50%.
[00:42:34.470]So for those of you that have housing needs,
[00:42:38.670]that program has had great success.
[00:42:40.610]We do have new numbers.
[00:42:42.050]We're at 850 some odd new housing units
[00:42:46.930]across the state with that original
[00:42:48.750]$7 million invested of state funds.
[00:42:52.150]And we're up to about a 16 to 1
[00:42:54.170]return on investment for the state funds.
[00:42:57.410]So we've got good success there.
[00:43:00.390]The 2020 allocations.
[00:43:01.930]Is just starting to roll some of those
[00:43:06.870]projects are just getting started.
[00:43:09.230]Of course there were impacts on the industry.
[00:43:12.170]There's some increased costs and
[00:43:14.830]and maximums that were changed too.
[00:43:18.470]We also have some home ARP funds
[00:43:20.790]coming with a focus on homeless,
[00:43:23.030]near homeless,
[00:43:23.870]and some other special populations.
[00:43:26.270]We don't see money in those programs
[00:43:28.570]to build new units or refurbish
[00:43:30.270]units to make available to that
[00:43:32.630]or those populations.
[00:43:33.950]So we're just getting started.
[00:43:35.910]We are in the process of hiring
[00:43:38.230]a manager for that program and then
[00:43:40.510]we have to submit a plan to HUD.
[00:43:43.150]But just so you're aware,
[00:43:45.070]if you're working with those
[00:43:46.990]organizations that serve those
[00:43:48.570]populations, the balance of state
[00:43:50.470]is sadly lacking in units for homeless,
[00:43:53.010]near homeless, domestic violence,
[00:43:54.510]those kinds of things.
[00:43:56.050]So this is an opportunity.
[00:43:58.110]We got about 15 million coming
[00:44:00.150]in, about 12 to put out in projects.
[00:44:03.050]So just letting you know that.
[00:44:06.130]We are moved into the Fallbrook office,
[00:44:08.190]so we're no longer downtown in
[00:44:09.590]the State Office Building.
[00:44:10.690]We're out in the Fallbrook area.
[00:44:12.910]We've also opened some space in Omaha.
[00:44:15.650]We have some space with HHS in North Omaha,
[00:44:18.890]but we're in the State Office
[00:44:20.510]Building in downtown Omaha.
[00:44:22.130]Some of the ARPA money is
[00:44:23.810]targeted for North and South Omaha,
[00:44:25.850]so we will have some staff on
[00:44:28.130]both the ARPA team and
[00:44:30.030]the incentives team in the Omaha office.
[00:44:33.770]The Nebraska Film Office has been under
[00:44:36.410]contract with Lori Richards as our staff person.
[00:44:40.450]Lori is nearing retirement,
[00:44:42.850]and so we are transitioning
[00:44:44.430]and we will break that position.
[00:44:46.570]She's working with Gentry Shop in our office.
[00:44:49.470]Many of you may have met Gentry on
[00:44:52.230]the Good Life team and she'll be
[00:44:55.330]helping with the film office stuff going forward.
[00:44:58.610]Then just,
[00:44:59.910]one big push with the field service is to do
[00:45:04.130]business retention and expansion surveys across the state.
[00:45:07.190]We'd like to do some blitzes in your community,
[00:45:09.610]so please let me know if you're interested.
[00:45:12.190]We'll work to get those set up.
[00:45:14.170]It's a good time now coming out of the pandemic,
[00:45:17.630]understanding business needs, growth plans, transition,
[00:45:21.770]those kinds of things.
[00:45:22.730]We have a new tool that we're
[00:45:24.230]using that's based in SurveyMonkey.
[00:45:26.230]It's going very well, the testing
[00:45:29.790]phase, and then just getting out to get started with those.
[00:45:33.190]So please let me know if your community wants to do some.
[00:45:36.150]We can bring three or four staff and partner up
[00:45:39.450]with your local folks and knock out 20 or 30 of them
[00:45:44.070]for your community and get a handle on what the business
[00:45:46.910]needs are of existing businesses.
[00:45:49.050]And a reminder, the Governor's Summit
[00:45:51.090]on Ag and Economic Development will
[00:45:52.950]be in Kearney at the Eunice Conference Center
[00:45:55.410]on August 10, the Diplomats Annual Banquet
[00:45:59.670]and Business Recognition is on the evening
[00:46:02.850]before on August 9.
[00:46:05.710]Thank you.
[00:46:06.390]Cheryl, we actually do have a two-day blitz scheduled
[00:46:14.070]in Chadron.
[00:46:14.710]Brittany's going to come out.
[00:46:16.030]And then Melody Bailey from NPPD, as well as Amy Sapp,
[00:46:22.230]who's moved over to PAD, are going to help.
[00:46:25.430]So we'll have two teams of two.
[00:46:27.190]That's great.
[00:46:27.970]Spend a couple of days.
[00:46:29.050]Thank you.
[00:46:29.550]If you do more, let us know, and we'll send somebody else to help.
[00:46:33.430]I know Brittany's doing some in Scotts Bluff today, I believe, also with Amy.
[00:46:37.810]Awesome.
[00:46:40.090]That is great.
[00:46:43.650]We need to remind ourselves to have Cheryl update us more often,
[00:46:48.530]because I think you guys have so much coming on board that it'd be good
[00:46:52.730]to hear that frequently, what's coming.
[00:46:56.050]Thank you, Jenny.
[00:46:57.310]It's just a circus.
[00:46:59.430]I'm way too old for this, but I'll keep trying.
[00:47:01.590]Awesome. Awesome.
[00:47:05.030]Anybody else want to bring anything else forward?
[00:47:07.350]I know that when we don't schedule something specific,
[00:47:12.990]we get lots of lots of good stuff.
[00:47:15.070]Joni, what do you got?
[00:47:16.990]Cheryl, I just want to remind you to put to that ARPA link up there,
[00:47:21.550]if you would, please. Yes.
[00:47:23.990]I'm trying to do that right now.
[00:47:26.830]My computer's being funky, so.
[00:47:29.310]Hang on. Thank you.
[00:47:31.310]Sure.
[00:47:32.310]Excellent.
[00:47:36.350]So I'm hoping you all had a good fourth.
[00:47:38.510]Everybody's kind of working on fair stuff as far as an extension.
[00:47:43.830]I might add, too, that I know that ARPA funding for communities
[00:47:48.350]and especially villages has been somewhat problematic,
[00:47:54.070]especially if there were any errors in that initial contact
[00:47:59.190]information or whatever.
[00:48:00.170]So Nebraska Extension rural prosperity educators have been working
[00:48:04.330]with communities.
[00:48:05.050]And so if you have anybody who's frustrated in counties or communities
[00:48:09.550]in figuring out how to do their reporting, changing contact information,
[00:48:15.110]let us know.
[00:48:15.830]It's very frustrating for village clerks who just don't have a ton of time
[00:48:21.590]to do this stuff to deal with a federal system.
[00:48:24.650]So let us know.
[00:48:25.590]We're trying to fix a few problems already.
[00:48:29.070]I think it helps to have somebody local that they can talk to.
[00:48:31.650]All right.
[00:48:35.010]Cheryl's got that link.
[00:48:36.090]Everybody select that so that we can get back to that and mark it.
[00:48:41.250]Anything else?
[00:48:44.830]Looks like Chelsea's swimming lessons have ended,
[00:48:49.050]so she's ready to go pick the kids somewhere.
[00:48:51.430]And I'm really excited about looking forward to the last part of July.
[00:48:55.890]It's going to be hot, but it's going to be quick,
[00:48:57.470]and there's lots of good things.
[00:48:58.950]happening.
[00:48:59.370]Everybody good?
[00:49:02.950]We'll see you in a month.
[00:49:04.630]Thank you.
[00:49:06.170]Thank you.
[00:49:06.310]We'll see you in a month.

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2022 Panhandle Rural Fellows Update

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