Welcome from the Central Region and the Partnership for Rural Nebraska
Linda Black, State of Nebraska Department of Economic Development
Scot Blehm, USDA Rural Development

Holdrege is a community alive with the pioneer spirit and continues to grow and prosper in the heart of Nebraska. The citizens of Holdrege realize that nothing is impossible in their community, and it is that philosophy that has propelled Holdrege to accomplish some incredible feats.  The Central Regional Group will welcome you to Holdrege and the region.  Following the welcome, Scot Blehm will give an update on the Partnership for Rural Nebraska.

Let’s Talk About the Future
Jerry Nagel, Northern Great Plains Incorporated

Join Jerry Nagel in this interactive session that will spark conversation about the future of Rural Nebraska, with the highest focus being recruitment and retention of young people.  Participants will have a chance to discuss real-life scenarios using a World Café Dialogue Method. Nagel is the president of Northern Great Plains, Inc., a non-profit applied research, demonstration and convening organization in North Dakota.

Hors d’ouvres at Nebraska Prairie Museum
Dinner at Cheex

Hors d’ouvres at the museum will feature products provided by GROW Nebraska. The Nebraska Prairie Museum contains more than one acre of indoor exhibits. Once inside, you get a feeling of spaciousness as you view collections of clothing, antique toys, farm equipment, tools and household items, a unique W.W.II German POW exhibit room, and much more.  Enjoy an Italian buffet at Cheex in downtown Holdrege.  At Cheex, you will have the opportunity to taste wines from across Nebraska and cheese from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Food Processing Center.

Note: Transportation will be provided.

Importance and Methods of Quality Community Dialogue
Jerry Nagel, Northern Great Plains Incorporated

Jerry Nagel has led community dialogues throughout the Great Plains Region and the world.  During this session, you will explore a variety of methods and techniques to have a quality community dialogue.  Gain an understanding of the best techniques to use in different situations.  The discussion on collaborative communication techniques will foster community buy-in for development projects. 

Mobile Workshop: The Future of Water and Eco-Tourism
Session Leaders:  Merle Illiam, USDA RC&D, Dena Beck, Rural Enterprise Assistance Program
Session Leaders:  Dena Beck, Rural Enterprise Assistance Program and Merle Illiam, USDA Trailblazer RC& D
Trail Boss: Jim Keeler, NMPP Energy

During this mobile workshop, expect to gain an understanding of the water issues in the Republican Valley and the efforts being made to address them. The bus will depart from the Phelps County Ag Center; the first destination will be the beautiful paved Alma Trail, in the town of Alma.  From there Jim Bowen, the Harlan Lake Manager, will jump on board while the tour heads to Hunters Cove to view a recently completed boat ramp created by a partnership of various entities. The tour will also view the invasive plant species spraying that took place this fall. Next you will cross the Harlan Dam, during a narration from Jim Bowen.

Enjoy lunch at the “Old Mexico Restaurant.”  From Republican City to Franklin, Merele Illian will share history about the flood of 1935 that devastated the area. He will also discuss the Lower Republican Rural Water District project and the potable water problems in and around the Republican City and lake area. From Franklin to Minden, the participants will learn about the Minden area and watch a short video. Snacks will be provided prior to a tour of the Minden Opera House. En route to Axtell, you’ll engage in a discussion about KAAPA. The tour will view Axtell’s Nature’s Mosaic at the Bethphage Mission as well. From Axtell back to Holdrege, Kara Mueller will speak about Funk Lagoon and growing up on Easy Street in Funk. She will also give participants an update about what is going on in Holdrege from a chamber of commerce viewpoint.  The tour will conclude with a short drive through Holdrege.

Mobile Workshop: Regional Successes
Session Descriptions: Tim Anderson, CNIPPD
Trail Bosses:  Sharon Huefle, South Central Economic Development, Inc. and Rick Nelson, Nebraska Public Power District

On this tour, you will see how communities are investing in housing and infrastructure to ensure a sustainable future.  The bus will leave from Phelps County Ag Center and begin with a tour around Holdrege, highlighting the State of Nebraska New Neighborhood Initiative. The Initiative was developed to address the housing shortages and mixed income housing in order to recruit and retain workforces in communities experiencing significant employee shortages.  Holdrege is one of three communities piloting the Initiative in 2007.  The next stop is Allmand Brothers, a key business in Holdrege since 1938.  Participants will visit the facility and learn how this business has evolved in building products that make construction sites brighter, warmer, safer and more efficient.  In Elwood, we will see the Homestead Housing projects the community has developed.  From Elwood we will travel Eustis where participants will enjoy an ethnic German lunch prepared by the Chamber of Commerce.  As you enjoy your Village Pie for desert, Judy Larson will share how her business has grown and expanded in Eustis.  Next, we will see the new development projects around Johnson Lake.  In Lexington, we will learn about a number of major development projects that are taking place to ensure a sustainable future.  The tour will conclude with a drive back to Holdrege.

Onsite Session: Tools and Skills for Appreciative Facilitation
Alan Baquet, University of Nebraska- Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics
Belinda Rinker, Community Development Institute and CDI Head Start

We are often asked to bring people together to create mission statements, develop strategic plans, set goals, manage change and resolve conflicts.  No matter how effective we are in our facilitation, plans and commitments made in meetings often break down over time.  Sometimes the shared feeling of purpose that people generate when they work closely together cannot be sustained after the group adjourns.

How do you create powerful agreements among individuals that can sustain ongoing commitment and action?  In this session, appreciative tools for gaining commitment and sustaining action will be explored, along with how participants can use those tools in their work.

Onsite Session: Make a Winning Podcast
Connie Hancock, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension

With the expanding world of digital imaging, every community can have audio/video clips highlighting community activities and places of interest and providing visitors and residents with current information.  In this session, participants will be able to view current community podcasts and explore the variety and creativity used for the digital imaging.

Learn how to create your own multimedia clip.  Once you learn the tools to create your episodes, the interactive Web is open to you. You are then ready to be a part of Youtube, podcasting, or simply putting the movie on your community’s Web site.

This real life, up-to-date information can be brought to you through the media of your choice–your computer, your car or your MP3 player.

Onsite Session: (Advanced) Tools and Skills for Appreciative
Facilitation
Alan Baquet, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics
Belinda Rinker, Community Development Institute and CDI Head Start

Appreciative inquiry is the basis for appreciative facilitation.  What is appreciative inquiry, and how is it used?  Learn the theory of appreciative inquiry, experience an appreciative inquiry activity and plan how to integrate appreciative inquiry into the work you do by creating your own appreciative inquiry activity.

Onsite Session: (Advanced) Make a Winning Podcast
Connie Hancock, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension

Once you have gained the multimedia skills needed to create a successful podcast from the previous session, you will now be able to focus on the content of the digital story for your community or business, which is key to making your podcast everything you want it to be.

Dinner at Holdrege Country Club
Awards at the Tassel, Phelps County Center for the Performing Arts
Celebrate collaboration and cooperation with Governor Dave Heineman during the Tuesday evening special recognition ceremony at the Tassel Performing Arts Center in Holdrege. After a year that’s seen fires, floods and ice storms affect numerous Nebraskans, the 2007 Nebraska Rural Institute will honor those individuals and groups who have answered the call for service with the Connecting Awards presented by Governor Heineman.

Once a tradition of the former Development Network, the Connecting Awards were given to one member of each development region. The award allowed each region to proudly recognize members who excelled in collaboration and service. After a brief hiatus, the Connecting Awards are back for 2007.

Before the ceremony, Institute participants will enjoy dinner at the Holdrege Country Club with meat donated by the Oxford Locker.

Successful Strategies to Attract New Residents to Your Community
Randy Cantrell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics
Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center
Bruce Johnson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics

According to the 2000 Census of Population, the majority of smaller geographic units in rural Nebraska (communities and townships) saw 20-percent or more of their 2000 population arrive from some other county, state or country during the five preceding years. On a percentage basis, those new arrivals were relatively more important to the very rural Panhandle region than they were in other parts of Nebraska.  In this session, a University of Nebraska research team will examine who these new arrivals are, what attracted them to the Nebraska Panhandle and how effectively development professionals in that region are marketing their community and regional amenities.

Leveraging Technology to Help Your Community
Jay Knobbe, Norfolk Area Recruiters
Monica Boyken, Phelps County Development Corporation
Kara Mueller, Holdrege Area Chamber of Commerce

Technology is only a tool; it is not the answer to a community’s problems.  The Norfolk Area Recruiters has illustrated the use of a Web site and the Internet, but it also points out that you can not just walk away from the Web site expecting it to do all the work.  It is only one tool. A community must also put a great deal of time and effort into phone calls, e-mails and letters to create the personal touch.  Jay will share successes and lessons learned as the Norfolk Area Recruiters has grown over the years.

The second part of this session will feature Holdrege’s efforts to use the digital imaging technology to highlight its community and ultimately recruit new businesses and residents.  Participants will also learn of recent efforts to attract people back to the community.

Winning Entrepreneurs Panel Discussion
Dan Shundoff, Intellicom;
Doug Keller, Eustis Body Shop;
Phil Soreide, One Good AdGuy

The panelists will each share their business start-up stories.  They will also share the obstacles they’ve overcome and the successes they’ve had while creating a successful, well-known businesses.  Finally they will discuss how their respective communities have facilitated an entrepreneurial environment. 

Lunch and Working Together for Your Future
Rick Sheehy, State of Nebraska Lieutenant Governor

Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy will discuss how to promote collaboration that will benefit rural Nebraska.  The ability of Nebraskans to work together to share resources and build relationships will help determine the success of development efforts.  As technology advances, so does the prospect for sustainable growth.  Lt. Governor Sheehy will also discuss the implications of technology on the future of Nebraska and the role that working together will play in moving toward the future.