FRN Corner: Community improvement

MOUNDSVILLE – Where do we go from here?

Marshall County, and the Ohio Valley, have been given a great opportunity in the form of workshops from two noted community builders, Dr. Vaughn Grisham of the George McLean Institute for Community Development, and Peter Hille, director of the Brushy Fork Institute. But what happens next, after Dr. Grisham and Hille have long returned home, is what matters the most.

You see, the Marshall County Family Resource Network’s sponsorship of both visits aren’t isolated. They are part of a bigger plan, a plan that has to be created by and for the residents and carried out regardless of who is in elected office and what’s happening with the overall economy.

It’s our community; it must be our plan and our vision.

Others can help, and we all know how helpful outside funding can be, whether it’s state and federal grant money, private foundations or corporate funds. But our success will rise and fall on the community’s capacity, enthusiasm and efficiency in doing the hard work that lies ahead.

“No community can be mobilize from the outside,” Hille says. “The real work depends upon local people designing for themselves the future they desire and working on the things that they care deeply about. Tapping this reservoir of vision and passion is one of the keys to moving a community forward.”

One of our missions at the Marshall County FRN is to build capacity in the community. We have many things to be proud of in Marshall County, and the kind of success and prosperity that we can only dream of right now is within our reach. But we need the steps to do it. Now.

We’re doing that with a new task force, “Moving to Action,” that is made up of concerned citizens who want to get involved in community projects in Marshall County. We’re looking for people who see that the county’s most important resource is people, and that by investing our time and effort we can all achieve great things.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, and moderated by Peter Hille.

To register, please call the Marshall County Family Resource Network at (304) 845-3300 or email marshallcountyfrn@comcast.net.