Saying Goodbye

The last day of my internship was Thursday, June 30^th.  I began the day by meeting with Nocona City Attorney Tracey Jennings, who also happens to be the city attorney for Saint Jo, Forrestburg, and Bowie.  I passed along to her a binder full of all of the projects I had been working on over the course of my internship for her to review. 

On the way back to Nocona from Bowie, we stopped in to say goodbye to Montague County Judge Sappington.  He gave me a letter thanking me for my service to the city of Nocona and to Montague County. 

For lunch, we were invited to the Montague Boot Company’s annual employee cookout.  It was like a family reunion centered on boots.  I was welcomed as both a guest and a friend.  I proudly displayed my own pair of boots, and had the opportunity to meet Larry Mahan, after whom my boots were named!  Larry Mahan was a World All-Around Rodeo Champion for five consecutive years, and won a sixth time.  He lives near Forrestburg with his wife and apparently visits the boot factory periodically.  I also got to talk to the city manager, who had been promoted through the ranks of the public works department. 

That afternoon when we arrived back at the NEDC office, Nocona’s Mayor Robert Fenoglio was there.  He presented me with the key to the city:  a 2-foot long leather key.  Embossing on the key read “Presented to Hillary Luckett for services to Nocona.”  The finger hole for the key was in the shape of the state of Texas. 

My last order of business was to meet with neighboring Saint Jo’s mayor.  He wanted to discuss the possibility of using the ballot language I prepared to implement the tax limitation.  That really brought my internship experience full-circle.  Not only did I help Nocona through my projects, but I hopefully will assist a neighboring community and all of Montague County.  The fact that I was the go-to person for some issues in the community made me realize the value of educated individuals in rural communities. 

Project Update

The Conservation District Ordinance is being reviewed by the City Manager and the Mayor.

The Tax Limitation Ballot is drafted and ready to go.  It is being reviewed by the City Attorney.  The Nocona Economic Development Corporations office is going to apply for the Texas Capital fund Downtown Revitalization Program so that the Conservation District can be officially recognized and we can put the Ballot initiative in the next special election, which will most likely be in May, 2012. 

The Montague County Young Professionals Advisory Council has a meeting scheduled for the beginning of July to finalize the curriculum and dates for the first class.  They will have another meeting in August to talk to Pete about the leadership component in more detail. 

The Montague County Vineyard and Heritage Museum has a 5 year strategic plan and the beginnings of an Advisory Board.  The board will have two components:  The vineyard/winery advisors, comprised of current Montague County vineyard owners, and the Heritage Museum side, composed of Tails and Trails Museum Board members and local historians.  

Rotary Club

I had lunch with the Rotary Club twice during my stay in Nocona.  My supervisor, James, is the Treasurer of the dozen-member civic organization, and he and his wife cook all the food for the lunchtime meetings. 

There are a handful of civic organizations in Nocona:  Rotary Club, Lion’s Club and a local chapter of the Free Masons.  Additionally, I heard there is an old lady painting club. 

I was a bit surprised to discover the small size of the civic clubs in town.  However, if you do the math and there are about 30 to 50 people out of a town of 3,000 that are involved in a civic organization, you have a 1% to 2% participation rate.  I would guess that those numbers are steady in other towns as well.  However, I feel like the clubs are so small that it is difficult for them to really do anything.  The Rotary Club puts on one major philanthropy event a year.  Even that, with the dwindling support and participation of the town, the club had a difficult time justifying the event because of economic feasibility. 

Another community problem that came to light at one of the meetings was the fact that a vast majority of major community events in the county occur over a period of about two months.  This is especially problematic when you have the same core group of volunteers leading most of the activities.  There are also issues with people and organizations failing to plan events far enough in advance.  The result is a quickly thrown together and rough event (or series of events) that exhausts and frustrates the volunteers.  Every weekend from mid-April to mid-June is filled with an event.  And unfortunately “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is often the reply whenever moving an event to another part of the year is suggested. 

Before I arrived, one of the projects that James had begun was the idea for a county-wide leadership program.  For some reason, there is a stringent rivalry among the communities in Montague County.  Nocona and Bowie hate each other, probably going back to an old football rivalry knowing Texas, and Nocona and Saint Jo aren’t fans of each other either.  The bottom line is that no one works together on anything, even though apart none of them have the people or the resources to get major events accomplished and there is no common base for coordination. 

Previously, a scraggly group of advisors had been meeting in different locations throughout the county on two previous occasions.  There is a similar program in Graham, Texas, that the group wanted to base the Montague County version on.  Since none of the separate towns are big enough to support their own leadership group, a county-wide program would have the numbers to support a program and foster community teamwork and communication. 

I have been working on a Concept for the leadership group.  I have the equivalent of a minor in Leadership from my undergraduate Studies at Austin College as a member of the Posey Leadership Institute, so I am familiar with leadership organizations and training.  

One of the funny things I noticed about Nocona was that the same group of people volunteered for everything.  I met about 30 members of the town who did just about everything.  The same people served on multiple boards, participated in civic organizations, were on City Council, volunteered and stood up as community leaders.  The other problem with most rural communities is that this population is aging.  The average age of individuals that served as Nocona’s community leaders was probably around 60.  So what is going to happen when these people are too old or tired of volunteering for everything?  That’s where the Montague County Young Professionals Leadership group comes in. 

So I got to work.  I called my mentor and leadership professor from Austin College, Dr. Peter DeLisle and asked him for his help and ideas in organizing the group.  He said that he had run a similar program a few years ago in another small town in Texas through the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension office.  He said that the Leadership Institute’s assistance with our program would fit squarely within the Institute’s mission to provide community outreach and leadership training services. 

Next, we determined who the ideal leaders for the advisory council would be.  With the concerns and the competition among the communities in the county already beginning – just deciding which town to meet in was always an ordeal – we had to find some county leaders who were enthusiastic about the program and neutral among the communities.  From the Advisory Council emerged Montague County Judge Tommie Sappington and AgriLife Extension officer Justin Hansard.  Judge’s name is immediately recognizable within the county and has the additional authority of having a judge’s stamp of approval on the group.  He is the highest official in the county.  Justin successfully runs the only program that joins together students from all of the different communities – the Agricultural Education program.  We decided that while Judge is an excellent figurehead for the Council – mostly to get his stamp of approval on the group – Justin would be a more vibrant and passionate leader.  And with that, the Advisory Council finally had a structure and a mission. 

  Below is the Montague County Young Professionals Concept that I wrote. 

Montague County Young Professionals

Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 6:30 p.m

Montague County Courthouse

MCYP CONCEPT 

I.               The Leadership Council shall

A.            Act as guardians and supervisors of the MCYP

B.             Serve as liaisons between the communities and the MCYP

C.             Accept and review applications

D.            County Judge Tommie Sappington shall serve as Council Executive

E.             Justin Hansard and Elsie Lacy shall assist Judge Sappington as needed with             executive functions. 

II.             Montague County Young Professionals (MCYP)

A.            Purpose

1.              To create new leadership in Montague County

2.              To network current and future leaders of Montague County

3.              To strengthen county cohesiveness and develop a common vision

4.              To encourage volunteerism within Montague County

B.             Program Pillars

1.              Leadership:  Teambuilding and leadership development

2.              Community:  Emphasize a common heritage, history and values

3.              Communication:  Positive communication and positive relationships

C.             Curriculum

1.              Dr. Pete DeLisle, Director of the Posey Leadership Institute at Austin             College, Sherman, Texas, will organize and lead the teambuilding and             leadership aspect of the curriculum.

2.              September:  Weekend Retreat

            a)             Teambuilding activities, relationship building and an introduction                                     to leadership

3.              Monthly Classes

a)              September:  Montague County History

b)             October:  State, County and City Government

c)              November:  Agriculture and Industry

d)             December:  Ethics, Professionalism, Positive Communication,             Business Etiquette and Social Media

e)              January:  Housing and Real Estate

f)              February:  Education and Childcare

g)              March:  Natural Resources including energy, water, oil and gas

h)             April:  Tourism

i)               May:  Social Service Agencies, Churches, and Civic Organizations

j)               June:  MCYP Graduation

4.              Class Projects: 

a)              Evaluate curriculum

b)             Mentor successive classes 

c)              Networking events with program alumni

d)             Community Service Requirement

e)              Philanthropy Project

f)              Alumni Association

g)              Leadership program at county high schools

5.              Logistics

a)              Application Process

                                                i)            Application:   Name, Address, Phone Number, profession,                                                                         employer, previous leadership experience, if any

                                                ii)              Deadline to Apply

                                    b)             Tuition:  $150 - $200 (Approximately 14 meals, one overnight stay                                                 at the retreat and class materials, i.e. Notebooks and activity                                                             materials) to be paid in full prior to the September retreat.

c)            Attendance Requirement:  Participants are expected to attend all             scheduled meetings of the program.  Participants who miss more             than two events will dropped from the class.  Attendance at the             retreat is a program requirement.

                                    d)              Employer support:  The applicant must have their employer's                                                             support for participation.

                                    e)              Class Schedule: 

                                                i)              The (First, Second or Third) (Wednesday or Friday) of the                                                                         month

                                                ii)              8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

                                                iii)            Montague County Courthouse

f)            First class:  Experimental Group

III.           Electronic Survey

A.            Other individuals to survey

IV.           Next Meeting:  Monday, July 11th at 6:30 p.m. at the Montague County Courthouse

A.            Finalize curriculum topics

B.             Begin planning curriculum topics speakers and activities

C.             Set dates for monthly classes

D.            Finalize application, deadline to apply, and tuition cost

E.             Set date for next meeting with Dr. Pete DeLisle to discuss survey results

Texas Rural Challenge

On Wednesday, June 19^th, James, James’ wife and I set off for the Second Annual statewide conference:  Texas Rural Challenge in San Marcos.  It is sponsored by the Texas Economic Development Council, which Nocona is a member of.  The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute for Economic Development hosts the event. 

It was basically two days of discussing rural development issues.  There were major speakers and breakout sessions on topics concerning sustainable and “green” development, utilizing rural resources to their maximum potential, and marketing and technology advancements. 

Keynote speakers included the chairman of the Board for Texas Workforce Commission, the president of a new eco-company HerdX, the young and inspiring President of Throckmorton Beautification Committee, Inc., the Texas State Director for Rural Development from the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas, a town completely destroyed by a tornado in 2007 that is rebuilding using green technology. 

The emphasis during the entire conference was the idea that “Small is Beautiful” and that economic developers in rural communities have to maintain a “rural state of mind.”  It was a vast contrast from playing with the big dogs like the previous day at the TEDC meeting in downtown Dallas.  Rural communities do want to develop and grow, but not to such an extent that they lose their identity and character. 

One of my favorite break-out sessions was entitled “Youth Engagement.”  Brain Drain is a huge problem in rural communities.  Usually, the kids say that they would love to come back and live in their small hometowns – IF there was a job available for them.  A rural community’s youth is one of its greatest underutilized resources.  One of the presenters talked about bringing agriculture classes and programs to all schools, including city schools.  The other presenter discussed many different ways to combat the brain drain problem.  She suggested that communities set up internships so that students can go off to college, and come back to their hometown for a summer to work closely with a mentor.  The idea is to recognize that students must leave many rural communities in order to pursue an advanced education.  But at the same time, the town needs to remind them that the students can come back when they are ready.  The internship, as well as talking to kids while they are still in school in the hometown high school about entrepreneurship, starting their own small business, and careers that they can bring back to their small town, all encourage students to directly participate in the economic development of their own hometown.

 

Another interesting message that I took back to Nocona was the idea of regionalism.  It can be difficult for rural communities to get things done because of their size and lack of resources.  But there is strength in numbers, and communities with a shared trait are encouraged to band together for a common goal.  There has been a big push for Regionalism in the last decade or so.  Some organizations are as large as 66 counties (in west Texas) or as small as 3 (in the San Marcos area).  This concept stood out to me as a great way to encourage tourism and teamwork in the Texoma valley region. 

 "Small is Beautiful!"

Networking

The first event I went to outside of the town of Nocona was to a “big city” meeting in Dallas.  There are two state entities that organize economic development:  The Governor’s office has an economic development and tourism department, and there is also the Texas Economic Development Council.  Both consist of members from cities across Texas.  I found it funny that my boss referred to the meeting with the advisors from the Governor’s office, including the Texas Secretary of State, as a big city event.  I learned that one of the most difficult things for a small-town leader is the challenge of wearing two hats.  On the one hand, you have to fit in with a small town and live the lifestyle.  On the other hand, you have to be a part of these statewide organizations full of government and commercial professionals. 

This balancing act is something that we have addressed in the advisory council for the Young Professionals Leadership Program.  There is no standard for professional conduct in rural communities, so the leaders that are rising up and must act as ambassadors with the big city players have to learn both styles.  While making a promise on a handshake is adequate on the ranch, but the leaders have to learn how to make a proper introduction or to send a courteous email.  To teach professionalism skills, we are adding a section on professionalism to the Montague County Young Professionals Leadership Program.

After schmoozing with the big wigs from the governor’s office, Rose, the NEDC executive assistant, and I attended the American Bus Association Meeting.  Their national conference will be in Grapevine in January.  Nocona is a sponsor.  It is kind of funny to think about a town of 3,000 people with limited tourism attractions being a sponsor for a national bus tour conference.  And we are talking major.  The bus tour includes a party on the field of the new Cowboys Stadium.  It costs $15,000 to sponsor margaritas for this event.  You’ve got to be kidding me.  By the way, even the representative from the Cowboys’ Stadium events office looked like an alternate for the Cheerleading squad.  She was probably one boob job away from the position she really wanted.  On the plus side, the meeting was held at a winery in Grapevine.  Yes, please.  

Rodeo

The 59^th Annual Chisholm Trail Rodeo was held last weekend at the Chisholm Trail Rodeo grounds in Nocona.  Events kicked off with mutton bustin’ (where kids ride sheep) at 7:30 pm and the real events started at 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday night. 

Friday night I went to the rodeo by myself since I didn’t really know anyone my age in town, hoping that I would see someone I had been introduced to.  Although I essentially spent the night by myself, I did have a lot of fun learning about the different events and enjoying the true community atmosphere in the stands.  My favorite part might have actually been watching the kids run around the spectator stands.  Kids in boots has to be one of the cutest things ever. 

I did get a chance to finally have a real conversation with Wayne Wood.  He’s the one who always gives me a hard time and teases me about running out of town and back to west Texas.  Turned out that he had lived in Amarillo for a number of years and still has kids there.  So we talked and compared stories of the friendly people and dust storms of west Texas. 

Saturday night went a little differently.  I arrived by myself and ended up talking to an old cowboy while I was in line at the concession stand for a BBQ sandwich.  He raised bulls and explained the process to me since he was there supporting a young ranch hand who was apparently a nationally-recognized bull rider.  Although his friend didn’t make it the 8 seconds for a good ride, I did get to experience what it was like to hang out with some old cowboys at the rodeo with a few cold beers in our hands.  After the rodeo, I took a few spins around the dance floor at the after-rodeo dance.  One of the cowboys – who couldn’t two-step very well  and was a former bull rider himself – explained to me that bull riders get the girls because of their skill, so good-dancing cowboys can’t ride bulls, and therefore have to find some other way to woo the girls.  Hahaha.