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VisionWorks' Breakthrough Solutions
Community and Regional Success Stories
Sparks of Greatness - 48 Million Dollars Worth – February 2004
Buried deep within each of us is a spark of greatness, a spark
that can be fanned into flames of passion and achievement. That
spark is not outside of you; it is born deep within you. - James A.
Ray
I love that quote, because it recognizes something very profound
about each of us and about our communities – that each of us truly
has the potential for greatness, for using our talents and abilities
to make a difference in the world. The purpose of the VISION 2010
Program is to fan the sparks of greatness in Arkansas communities
into flames of passion and achievement. We rely on our VISION 2010
Partners; we rely on the VISION 2010 communities themselves. The
results are often astonishing, as described in the following story.
Here is your strategic leadership quiz for the day.
Consider this number, then check all that apply. $48,346,285:
___ Not bad – pretty soon you’re talking about real money.
___ If this many $1 bills were placed end to end, they would reach
from Little Rock to Seattle and back (4,578 miles).
___ would pay the wages of 805 IT workers in U.S. for one year.
___ would pay the wages of 6,906 IT workers in India for one year.
___ is the value of the community development projects undertaken by
VISION 2010 community Van Buren, AR (population 19,777) over the
past 5 years.
___ is equal to .00012% of total American debt (government,
business, and household).
___ all of the above
___ none of the above
If you checked all of the above, you would be correct.
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| Van Buren 2010 Leaders at the New
Riverfront Park, Left to Right are: Bernie Manard, Mayor
John Riggs, Cathy Gifford, Lance Lanier, and Berni Kurz. |
Here is the rest of the story: "I never realized the impact of these
projects would be so great," states Berni Kurz, Crawford County
Extension Agent – Staff Chair. "We began to track down the value of
the projects completed in the last 5 years, and it really impressed
me."
Van Buren participated in the VISION 2010 Program, in which they
formed a broad-based steering committee, sent a leadership team of 5
individuals to six 2-˝ day seminars, and developed an action plan
for the future of the community.
Van Buren completed 13 of its top 15 priorities, plus two other
major projects. The city:
- Involved over 1200 citizens in a community-wide visioning process
that led to 15 major goals
- Developed a riverfront park
- Passed a sales tax to support police and fire protection
- Established a skate park and Golf-n-Games
- Established a Main Street Program, installed planters, planted
trees, created banners, attracted donors for private historic
building renovations and for public historic building renovations
- Built public restrooms in the park
- Improved Oliver Springs Road as an alternate route to state
Highway 59
- Encouraged landscaping by private business along Hwy 59 for
greater curb appeal
- Installed welcome signs at the city limits
- Cleaned up Lake Lou Emma
- Built park at Frisco Railroad Depot
- Built a new Van Buren school football facility
- Established Leadership Crawford County
- Built performing arts center and made other school improvements
- Created a city water park and upgraded city park
- Established a Crawford County Continuing Education Center
- Attracted grants and private investment for Intermodal Port
Development
Key Factors for Success
- Organized Group Seeking Solutions: "We had a group of people who
had been meeting for several months; we were looking for someone who
could lead a visioning process and VISION 2010 came along at the
right time," states Marjorie Armstrong, former Executive Director of
the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce.
- VISION 2010 Became a Vehicle for Development: "It was through
VISION 2010 that we learned how to involve the community, set
priorities, and move forward," states Cathy Gifford, Van Buren
VISION 2010 Leadership Team member. The leadership team did an
expert job of implementing the process and adapting it to the needs
of the community.
- Staff Support: The Van Buren Chamber board was willing to commit
part of Marjorie’s time to the VISION 2010 initiative.
- Support from and Communication with Key Stakeholders: Several key
leaders in the community served on the Chamber board; they gave
their permission and were kept informed. In addition, the VISION
2010 Leadership Team made regular reports to Mayor John Riggs and
the Van Buren City Council.
- Leadership Team Respected in the Community: Because the Van Buren
Leadership Team is comprised of five people who are well respected
in the community, citizens were willing to devote their time and
effort to this effort, knowing it would lead to action.
- Widespread Community Involvement: With steering committee meetings
that often attracted 40 citizens and visioning sessions that reached
nearly 1,000 people, involvement of the community served three
critical functions by:
- increasing enthusiasm within the community and resources for
priority projects
- legitimizing the overall effort in the eyes of the community
- identifying the real priorities of the community, thus providing a
green light for community leaders to move ahead with tax and other
issues because they knew the community support was there.
- Excellent media coverage: Leadership Team member Cathy Gifford did
a top-notch job of attracting positive media coverage.
- VISION 2010 Seminars Provided Ongoing Support: "The seminars
(held
every two months for a year) were valuable," states Marjorie
Armstrong. "They continued to give us the framework to go
forward, and the training we needed to lead the process."
What Van Buren has done is just outstanding and is encouraging to
many other communities who aspire to grow and develop. Their can-do
attitude and sense of community is contagious and is an inspiration
to all of us.
One last shot of strategic thinking for you:
First settled in 1818 by Thomas Phillips, Van Buren was known as
Phillips Landing for its location on the Arkansas River. The
projects undertaken by the leaders and citizens of Van Buren reflect
strategic thinking and action, including the strategic importance of
the river for the riverfront park and the intermodal (rail, truck,
and barge) facility. Because the intermodal facility offers
advantages to companies doing business in the area, it will be
attractive to those companies, just as Phillips Landing (an earlier
intermodal facility located just upstream) attracted people and
businesses nearly 200 years ago.
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Community and Regional Success Stories
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