East Arkansas Planning and Development District held its one-day regional summit- "Igniting Our Region's Capacity for Growth"- on Thursday, May 28th. The day was beneficial for all attendees, allowing them to learn more about ways to positively impact their region.
"This summit was a great experience for participants and event leaders alike, allowing us to intentionally plan to continually promote, develop and improve the region through these new tools and EAPDD's assistance," said Greene County Judge Rusty McMilllon.
In 2011, EAPDD received a $2.6 million sustainable community grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a result, the three-year reNEW East Arkansas Initiative was developed in order to serve the District's 12-county region. Focuses of the reNEW East Arkansas Initiative include community and economic development strategic planning, regional housing analysis, healthy food analysis, regional asset inventory and an economic development database.
The summit was culmination of the progressions that have stemmed from the grant over the past three years. Participants were given the necessary tools to better contribute to the economic development of their communities.
"Coming together today shows the endless opportunities in our region," said Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeler. "The way to meet these opportunities is through partnership. It's time to make the plan a reality."
Attendees started their day by hearing from Melissa Rivers, EAPDD Executive Director. They next listened to several Federal and State agency leaders who formed a panel on the future of public funding and then heard another panel discussion on the future of philanthropic funding. The morning wrapped up with a data presentation on the Baseline of Eastern Arkansas by Brian Kelsey, Principal and Founder of Civic Analytics.
During lunch, summit attendees heard a keynote address from Dr. Jan Young, Executive Director of the Assisi Foundation of Memphis.
Participants spent the afternoon in breakout sessions on topics such as community engagement, civic conditions, utilizing data to tell the story, redeveloping dilapidated properties, workforce development, connecting people to local foods, small business as economic development and more. These sessions were led by qualified individuals who were able to use their knowledge and experiences to guide the conversations and offer feedback.
"Now it's time to go out and implement our plan," said Mayor James Sanders of Blytheville. "We've been shown the resources that we have available to help us do just that."
"This summit is indicative of the high level of commitment to economic growth in our region," said Melissa Rivers, EAPDD Executive Director. "We will see positive results in the coming months from today's work."