Glendive, Montana’s Community GATE earns $100,000 cash award from the Northwest Area Foundation

Community GATE has received $100,000 for being named a 2008 Great Strides award winner by the Northwest Area Foundation http://www.nwaf.org/ in St. Paul, Minn.

According to a news release from the foundation, Community GATE was chosen to receive the award for its strategies to build new jobs and business opportunities through sustainable agricultural and economic development.

Presentation: http://www.nwaf.org/Content/Files/Horizons/Glendive,%20MT.pdf?pg=Programs/Horizons/Glendive,%20MT.pdf

The award is given annually in recognition of innovative strides communities have taken to reduce poverty for the long term. This year 23 communities were considered for the award and six finalists hosted on-site visits by the foundation. Glendive was one of four chosen to receive ithttp://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080125/pl_usnw/four_rural_communities_named_great_strides_award_winners_for_innovative_steps_to_reduce_poverty

Eagle Butte, South Dakota; Elk City, Idaho; Glendive, Montana; and Roseburg, Oregon Each Awarded $100,000

Glendive is turning to its farming roots for job training and new careers to overcome Dawson County’s 12 percent poverty rate, the news release explained. The town’s Community GATE model incorporates an agriculture marketing cooperative that encourages farmers to sell locally grown crops, such as beans and barley, to the hometown food business, Western Trails Foods. The long-range plan calls for a farm-to-table restaurant and microbrewery that would also serve as a learning laboratory for jobs in the culinary industry.

The venture would bring new jobs and a shared-use, commercial kitchen where people with low or fixed-incomes could process their food, and local producers could add value to their products. Community GATE also sponsors a farmers’ market that serves low income and working families. A chef’s training program and community garden at a regional prison were developed through a partnership with law enforcement and the local community college.

“In our work, poverty reduction is neither fast nor easy. This year’s Great Strides winners have proven that by identifying new economic engines communities can make sustainable changes to reduce poverty over the long run. They have valuable lessons to share,” said Kari Schlachtenhaufen, interim president and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation.

The beauty of this award is that it is a recognition of the work that is being done and an encouragement to continue that work, Bruce Smith of Community GATE noted. Since it can be used as matching funds for federal and state grants, it may be possible to double or quadruple it.

“The 2008 Great Strides Award being given to our local Community GATE Committee is a very positive statement for their visionary concept of using our biggest industry, agriculture, to promote the job growth and marketing of our area’s resources,” Mayor Jerry Jimison commented. “The grant money will go a long way in helping them achieve their goals. This project is another great boost for the City of Glendive and our entire area.”

Other 2008 Great Strides winners include the Eagle Butte, S.D., Four Bands Community Fund; Elk City, Idaho, Framing our Community, Inc.; and Roseburg, Ore., Umpqua Community Development Corporation.

Northwest Area Foundation has asked each winner to work with the foundation to share key lessons about their efforts and programs so that other communities can learn from their experiences and possibly replicate their success.

Great Strides Award recipients were selected for their inclusiveness, regional impact, asset-based perspective, economic engines and leadership.

The Northwest Area Foundation’s mission is to help communities reduce poverty long term. The foundation’s service area includes Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington – the states once served by the Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill. For additional information about the Great Strides Award and about the Northwest Area Foundation, visit http://www.nwaf.org or call 651-224-9635.

By Cindy Mullet
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

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What is America’s Second Oldest Profession?

No, I didn’t mean it that way! Here is my question: What is the second oldest aged profession in the USA? If you answered farmers, you would be correct. At 58 years of age, it is second only to drawbridge operators. We are neither building many drawbridges, nor is there much of a future for advancement in that field. So why is farming not attracting young people while keeping old folks on the farm?

I raised these questions during my talk to rural legislators from around the country at the SARL Conference in St. Louis. My third key in BoomtownUSA was Leveraging Your Resources and I think that many rural communities have some largely underexploited resources at their disposal. The problem is that these resources never get developed either for lack of vision, money or both. I also think that it is much easier to step out on a limb when you are 30 rather than when you are 70, so to fully exploit agricultural potential it is imperative to get more young people into the game.

Jack Schultz

Full Story: http://boomtownusa.blogspot.com/2008/01/second-oldest-profession.html