John M. "Jack" Schultz, author of "Boom Town USA," will be on hand Friday, April 4, at the first-of-its-kind Mayor's Summit, "Poverty to Prosperity," at the Martin Community Center in Marshall.
The summit is a joint project of the office of Marshall Mayor Connie Latimer and Missouri Valley Community Action Agency.
The event is expected to draw teams of community leaders and public and private sector representatives from as many cities in the seven-county area the agency serves as possible, so they can work together to give everyone the tools they need to address their communities' needs.
Melanie Corporon, community development director at MVCAA, said Tuesday, April 1, that registrations for the summit are already at or above expectations.
Corporon said the summit is an outgrowth of MVCAA's realization that they needed to "get back to our roots, ending poverty, instead of just deliver services. It's a big mental leap. Our planning has always been external, but the focus really is that we serve a community, that we're not just an agency delivering services."
The two-day meeting is scheduled for April 3 and 4, and is open to the public. There is a $50 registration fee, which covers refreshments and materials for both days.
For those unable to make a two-day commitment, but who would like to hear Shultz's 2:30 p.m. presentation Friday, April 4, there is a $10 admission fee, payable at the registration table on the day of the presentation.
Schultz is the CEO of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, a company whose mission, he says, is to develop business in small towns. Schultz built what he calls his "7 1⁄2 Keys to big success in small towns" while working with a citizen-led group in his own hometown of Effingham, Ill., as their small town of faced the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in 1988. Copies of the book will be available at the summit.
Schultz's book details the successes of Effingham and hundreds of other small towns, and points out the common traits they all share, including the promotion of a "Can Do" attitude he feels is essential to growth.
Schultz will tour MVCAA's seven-county area before his presentation on Friday, April 4, to more specifically tailor his presentation to the local audience.
For more information, contact Corporon by phone at 660-886-7476 or by e-mail at corporon@mvcaa.net.
Contact Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net
Source: http://www.marshallnews.com