Community Thinking

Sonoco announces major investment

2011-12-14T04:48:00.001-08:00

News was exciting to read yesterday as Sonoco announced its intention to invest more than $100 million in new infrastructure (biomass-fed boiler) at the Hartsville plant site.

We have to be in the Future Business

2011-12-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

Am currently reading a new book by former President Clinton and the one line that is the theme of the book is the need for us to be in the future business.

Almost every day in Hartsville I am talking with someone about how we can grow our small city of Hartsville and why we need to grow our small city of Hartsville. The answer is that We have to be in the future business. A couple of days ago I met the Mayor who was having a late lunch and we talked about this idea of being in the future business by reflecting on some of what we are seeing today --

In Hartsville we need to be in the future business and we are fortunate that there are those within our area who are working to help Hartsville move to that future. We need more of those efforts and people behind those efforts. There are businesses and people who are not in our community who often tell those who are seeking to build that we are too old, too small, too isolated. But, much like our small, private college that has been home in this community for more than 100 years (we find if they visit they often catch the vision.) Word is there is a developer who is working aggressively to find a way to make a new hotel a reality. Word is that the Winn Dixie store will not be vacant for much longer. Eyesight tells you that First Citizens sees the future of Hartsville with their new bank, which is right across from Heritage Community Bank, which is just about right across from a modern office building that is soon to become the home of the Malloy Law Firm. Senator Malloy and his staff are looking forward to taking possession of this state-of-the-art office.

Those offices show proof that people in Hartsville are in the future business. And, when speaking of financial institutions in that business we should not forget that Wachovia is now Wells Fargo with an enlivened presence in downtown Hartsville and during a resurgence of downtown a few years back SPC Credit Union set the standard in future thinking. Mutual Savings is not exactly downtown but their thoroughly remodeled building was a forerunner of some of the current growth.

There is real proof that Hartsville is in the future business and word is that some additional formal announcements coming this week from the big company in town will underline some of this discussion.

And, when you really want to look at being in the Future Business the Governor's School for Science and Math could be the new Standard Bearer. How great was it to see an ad in the Sunday paper looking for new, high-quality faculty members to fill NEW positions at the expanding school. GSSM is creating jobs in Hartsville whose main goal is teaching some of the best and brightest high-school age students that South Carolina has to offer-- our FUTURE.

Just up Second Avenue from GSSM, Coker College is continuing on planned growth path that is adding new programs, (the recently announced Masters Degree in College-Sports Management for example); new students, new faculty and a growing commitment of partnership with its host community. This is being in the future business.

Being in the future business is hard work that requires nerve, energy, investment, vision, leadership and collaboration. Being in the future business means pulling together, creating a team ready and willing to build. Being in the future business means listening and then MAYBE, responding with something like -- How could we make that happen -- rather than, No, no way that can work.

Look at the resources we have in this community. As we move close to this new year let's all work to remind ourselves that if we are going to have the tomorrows we want, we have to be in the future business today.

(author's musing -- Hope some of that makes sense. I am going to look at it as sort of a first draft because there are lots of things I have left out and probably many things that still need saying. Guess it goes without saying that I would love to have some of your thoughts and comments as we all work to make Hartsville one of the best places in the world in which to live, work, study and play.)

STATE Newspaper has excellent story on Charlie Coker

2011-11-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Charlie Coker is one of the business legends in South Carolina. Here The State newspaper provides an interesting overview of a long career building a company and a community. Charlie's efforts continue today. I think you will enjoy reading this story from The State newspaper on the influence Charles W. Coker has had on the State of South Carolina, Sonoco and Hartsville.

How does a small community create jobs?

2011-11-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

One of the major questions that some people in Hartsville have been discussing over the past several months is "How does a smaller community like Hartsville engage in economic development and create needed jobs."

One idea that is being discussed is finding a way to infuse more new and niche businesses into the Hartsville retail community, taking advantage of the amazing downtown ambiance that many of us seem to take so much for granted. But, as this idea is being discussed, we also hear of some of those same nice, niche, new businesses that we have considering closing their doors because business is just not good enough to pay the bills.

In fact, one of our major communication businesses is moving from their home and for a number of weeks they had problems finding a location in the rental-price range they were needing to pay.

So, as this question of how to create jobs is being discussed, one idea is that we find a large retail space in downtown that could be subdivided into smaller stores that could give a new business enough space to create their "SPACE" while keeping rent low enough to be affordable for a start-up enterprise. If you were going to give a name to such a business, it would probably be incubator -- at least that is what Mayor Pennington calls this space when he is thinking about what might work. A retail incubator could be an idea with merit. There are certainly some major questions. How would a building owner recoup investment? Would it be possible to add to the downtown-loft apartments that have been built the past couple of years and get enough rent from those to make some money on the building, which might now even be able to get enough retail floor rent to pay bills. Would a public passage from the parking lots on College Avenue to the store fronts on Carolina Avenue be a incentive for more shopping in the downtown. Would such a building area be available at price that could make the dream a possibility.

There are many people I have spoken with who say they would like to open a business but looking at space costs of more than $800 a month give them a great deal of pause. But, they would love to be in a downtown area that looks like Hartsville's downtown -- if they could afford it.

So, this might be one idea for creating opportunities for people to open new businesses in Hartsville. And, new businesses can create jobs. What other ideas are there for creating jobs in a community like Hartsville?

"Old Geezer" is nearly a month into eight year of not missing a day of running

2011-09-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

He’s one of the fastest old geezers you are ever going to know

For the past 2,570+ days Robbie McLendon has been pounding the pavement for at least three miles and in the past three days he has logged 47 miles, including a marathon distance of 26.2 miles. For those who are not much into math, or even basic arithmetic, that is seven years without missing a day as of August 29, 2011. The 56-year-old self-proclaimed “old Geezer” is on a streak of every day running that puts him in some rare company. Robbie is not only consistent, he is fast. He is fast not just for a 56-year-old, he is fast. This past March, at the 2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon he finished in 3:11:4, placing 65th among more than 3000 runners.

Is there a reason for all this running?
So, what is it that will make someone keep running and running and running. “Welllllll,” said Robbie who was trying to come up with a reason, “If I do it every day, I don’t have to worry about starting back.” In our current era when obesity is a major health concern in the American population and chronic illness like diabetes sidelines hosts of people from active living, Robbie knows he does not want to there…again.
Exercise as a life style
In this age when we have a culture fighting against obesity, chronic illness and disease and a sedentary, sit-in-front-of-the-screen lifestyle, Robbie McLendon shows there are other ways to live.
Daily running streak began in 2004
The running streak began August 29, 2004 about three days after he got out of the hospital with a high blood sugar count that almost put him in a coma. He has always been active and at another time in his life, in his 30s, he was a runner. Back in 1986 he ran a 2:40:05 marathon and finished the famous Charleston “Bridge Run” in 34:45 for the 10-K (6.2 mile) event. He knew what it was like to be in shape. He knew what it was like to be super healthy but then things like work began to take the toll on working out. He was employed with Wellman Industries outside of Darlington. “It was a good job, paid well and was challenging. But, it was not unusual to work 12 and 13 hour days and not get home until midnight or after.” The running and exercising became something he used to do, not something he did.

Eye-opening hospital stay
That day in August 2004 it caught up to him. At the time he was hospitalized, Robbie says he was about 240 pounds and he was carrying most of it in stomach. “I have a small frame, so that was a lot of weight in the middle,” he said. He decided a change was needed and went out for a run and that first run went three miles. He did not record the time but he remembers it being 10 or 11 minutes a mile. He jotted the time and the distance down in a journal and that journal is still where he keeps the daily running record.

One day, then another, then another
The August 29 run led to the August 30 run to the August 31 run and before he knew it, Robbie had a year of running without missing a day. “I started back running to lose the weight, to get back being healthy and it worked,” reflected Robbie as he thought back to that first year. “Then it became a competition and I did not want to stop.”

Running for health
Today, Robbie weighs in at about 160 pounds. He has been off insulin for years and his blood-sugar chemistry is where both he and his doctors like it to be. Once he beat the illness he found he had developed a new drive. Turns out that Robbie is not only a runner, he is one of the most active physical fitness gurus around. His daily workouts at the Hartsville Family YMCA include heavy weight training, usually 30 to 45-minutes ab work, and even occasional classes in P90-X or some of the other programs that are popular. In 2008 it became a little easier for him to expand his workouts as he lost his job with the closing of Wellman. There were not a lot of other jobs available at the time. He didn’t sit around; he got into even better shape. Several months ago he did land a part-time job at the Hartsville Y as a building manager. That is afternoon and night hours and it doesn’t get in the way of his runs his lifting or one of his new-found enjoyments – Yoga. “I started yoga in P-90 X and it not only helps me stretch better, I find it relaxing.”
"Have to run faster..."
And, relaxing is not an adjective that you often hear associated with the old Geezer, who this past week recorded 77 running miles in the journal as he gets ready for the Savannah Rock and Roll Marathon that will be run in November. And, relaxing is not something you associate with someone whose September 22 Facebook post described a workout day that included three (3) mile repeats, 4-200 meter repeats, 10-100 meter repeats…all with a resistance parachute strapped to his back. He uses that type of resistance and repeat training to build up other muscle groups that he hopes will aid him in his continuing quest to win, not just place, in the race.
He loves the thrill of the chase
The old Geezer competes just about every weekend. If he hears there is a starting line and a finish line he is on his way. “Lately, a 52-year old from Sumter has been beating me and I want to get him. I really do love the competition.” His major goal now is to run the Savannah Marathon in 3:05 or less. “I think I can do it,” he says with jaw-set determination. He will continue his 70+ miles a week training for another couple of weeks before he begins his tapering down process where he will reduce those miles to 50 or 60 as the race gets closer.

Easier to run than to stop
On those long runs he does often wonder why he is doing it. He says even today, with all these miles behind and so many yet to go, “It is a love hate type of relationship. I do like the way it makes me feel but it is always hard getting started but then I hate to stop.”

Writer note: I included this story in the Community Building blog because I think people who are doing notable things in our community are examples of how we continue building community. A community of runners and exercisers has been established in our Hartsville area and Robbie McLendon is right in the center of that community. Would love to have you post some of your "Robbie" snippets to this blog.

Hartsville in the news

2011-09-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Oakdale Neighborhood has long been an important part of the city of Hartsville. For decades the majority of the residents worked at the Milliken textile mill and the Mill Village moniker was part of the lore of Oakdale. The mill went the way of of the American textile industry -- away.

In the mill's place is one of the testaments to South Carolina's creativity, ingenuity and cooperation -- the South Carolina residential Governor's School for Science, Mathematics and Technology. The school is home to some of South Carolina' brightest high school students, who spend their junior and senior years in Hartsville preparing to become tomorrow's leaders. Next to the GSSM is Oakdale, again in the shadow of a crucial Hartsville institution.

Oakdale is currently the focus of some redevelopment and some of that is noted this evening in a story on WMBF's web site and television station. And, the city has put in a grant that would give an even bigger lift to this neighborhood if it is awarded. These are things that bring communities back to life and that we call home. This is another and the city is fortunate that one of America's Marine Corps warriors,who worked civil affairs in tours of Iraq and Afghanistan is leading the effort.

Rebuilding a sense of community is priority

2011-09-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Coker College joined in the Service Day that was part of the commemoration of the events of September 11, 2001. Nearly 300 students and a few faculty and staff headed off to work on a variety of service oriented programs from cleaning up school yards to painting at a Boys and Girls' Club. Coker College is working hard on a goal of building even stronger community with Hartsville, the host community of the college for these past 100-plus years.

And, at lunch this noon in a conversation with Hartsville's City Manager the question of some particular projects needing assistance in our community was one of the discussion items. She mentioned an old cemetery in the South Hartsville area that has again become overrun with weeds and bushes and stuff. She mentioned renovations that are taking place at a park that could use additional volunteer assistance to make happen more quickly. My guess is these projechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifts can and will happen once people are made aware of the need. One former Hartsville mayor is fond of saying that in Hartsville there are a lot of people who will complain that the trees need watering and then will go and get buckets and water those trees. Some things need government assistance and some things need people assistance and most of the team we get a great deal accomplished when it all works together.

But, as Rich Harwood notes in his recent blog , much of what is going on in areas of our country is not allowing solutions. He calls the politics of today "toxic." The Harwood Institute is working with communities around the country in community building efforts and Rich is a recognized authority in this area. What follows are two paragraphs from his current blog that I think speak to how we can begin chipping away at the problems and finding some solutions:

Harwood says: "Instead, it is everyday citizens – you, me, and others – who ultimately will place the nation on a better trajectory. The task before us is to “rebuild” the nation – but not solely by constructing new memorials and buildings at Ground Zero and elsewhere. For bricks and mortar are not the most important building blocks for this rebuilding.

The first and most fundamental need is to “signal” each other that we are ready to step forward and join together. To achieve this, we must embrace and spread small public acts and rituals that get people out of their homes and demonstrate a sense of connection and compassion for one another – acts such as helping a neighbor, painting a local school, singing public-spirited songs together, and displaying the flag, among others. I am not advocating make-work volunteer efforts, or superficial initiatives, but small acts grounded in a sense of common purpose and accomplishment and the greater good."

Last night People to People in Hartsville held a "Meet the Chief" gathering to further the conversation about law enforcement in our city. I heard that one person stood up and discussed the importance of neighbors joining neighbors and taking back control of their neighborhoods - now -- not later. There is a will that is emerging in cities like Hartsville that we must hope flows across communities and becomes a tipping point of community building before it really feels too late to make a difference.

Masterful 9-11 Commemoration at Coker College

2011-09-12T04:06:00.000-07:00

A 9-11 college and community event called "9-11-2001 A Community Remembers" could be a textbook case history for how to build and execute a meaningful, memorable gathering of forces to honor both memory and community. Will Carswell, who had the idea and chaired the planning, demonstrated a leadership that we need much more of throughout this country of ours.

The focus of this 9-11 remembrance was how the performing arts can translate, transmit and transform emotions. The mix of artistry was, by itself, awesome from targeted choral selections, to modern chance choreography,, to poetry, to readings, to a Brass Quartet, to piano and horn to a short story ending in a solemn Tolling of the Bells.

In addition, this was a combined Coker College and community event with the Hartsville Middle School Magnet Chorus under the direction of Kim Roberts and the Hartsville Chamber Ensemble under the direction of Anna White Hill.

Short comments from Dr. Carswell, Dr. Robert Wyatt, Coker's president, Mel Pennington, mayor of Hartsville and the Reverend Phil Thrailkill, who led the totally filled auditorium in the "OUR FATHER" began the program.

The memory of 9-11-2001 will remain and now we can put "adjacent" to that horrible day the splendor of arts helping in the attempt to make sense of it all.

The Watson Theater was filled and many people were unable to attend because of safety and fire regulations preventing standing in aisles. The capacity crowd is another proof of the needs communities have to honor, to remember and to engage.

Innoventure Blog Post focus on education in Darlington County

2011-08-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

We are used to telling some sad and mad stories about education in Darlington County and in South Carolina. That may be one reason that this http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifparticular blog post needs some highlighting -- it is a story of success and a story of hope. It is also a story of Darlington County.

Here are a few of the opening paragraphs to this blog, which was written by John Warner:
Submitted by: John Warner on Aug 11, 2011 at 9:14 am Tagged with: K-12 education Source: Darlington Country School District

I attended an annual planning meeting of the SC Education Oversight Committee on August 8, 2011. There I met the superintendent of the Darlington County School District, Dr. Rainey Knight.

Let's first define a term. The "Poverty Index" includes students who are eligible for the free and reduced price Federal lunch program and/or Medicaid.

Based on the 2010 SC Annual SC Annual School District Report Card, Darlington is the 12th best performing out of 85 school districts in the state. On a 5 point scale, Darlington is a 4, performing similar to Richland 2 (53% poverty index) and Dorchester 2 (56% poverty index). Darlington's performance is blowing away districts with a performance of 3 like Greenville (58% poverty index) and York 3 (61% poverty index).

Here is the deal though. The poverty index in Darlington is 81%. Wow! Darlington is performing significantly better than districts whose poverty index is 20 percentage points lower. Mind you this is not the exceptional performance of just one school with high poverty. This is the exceptional performance of an entire district of schools with high poverty. (End quote text)

The new school year is beginning. Our garage door slammed shut at 6:50 this Friday morning with my wife off to St. John's Elementary where she teaches music four days a week and then to Cain Elementary, where she teaches music one day a week. Teachers all over Darlington County have been at work since Monday and they begin seeing students this coming Monday. At Coker College, where I have one of my jobs, we began faculty week meetings with a panel-audience discussion about teaching and learning in what we call at Coker the "Circle of Learning." What we continue to uncover when we discuss the learning process is just how crucial education is to the FUTURE. I hope our teachers begin to tell us the stories of the miracles that occur daily in their classrooms so that you can begin to feel the the power that is education;even when it is in need of serious repair on many fronts.

How do you know a program is working

2011-07-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

The Byerly Foundation is in the community building business and we do this by providing grants for programs that the Byerly Board hopes will make a significant difference in helping Hartsville become an even better place to live and one of the best places to live -- anywhere. That is a stretch goal, by almost any defihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnition.

One of the major problems the Foundation has and nearly all Foundations and community development types of programs is how to know if programs work. Normally the groups implementing the programs will set their goals and list the measures they want to use to measure effectiveness. Then you assess the program based on the approved metrics. Sometimes this gets you the information you want and sometimes it doesn't.
More-Than-Good-Intentions
One thing that those working with Foundations and other funders do is continue to explore ways to measure effectiveness. This week the Stanford Innovation Review has a review of a book that discusses how programs might be measured. Just a few minutes ago I ordered this book from Burry Bookstore -- More Than Good Intentions: How a New Economics Is Helping to Solve Global Poverty by Dean Karlan & Jacob Appel

According to the reviewer, Kevin Starr, "Karlan and Appel believe that understanding what works for poverty alleviation programs boils down to one deceptively simple question: “How did people’s lives change with the program, compared with how they would have changed without it?” The primary—but not only—tool that Karlan et al. use to answer that question is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). In an RCT, a pool of subjects is randomly divided into intervention and control groups; the former gets the interventions and the latter does not. The two groups are fundamentally alike—both are measured before and after, and the impact is the difference between what happened to the intervention group and to the control group. RCTs are not new. The novel element here is the systematic and creative application of RCTs to test poverty solutions in the real world."

This is an interesting concept because when you are working on social interventions, it is difficult to keep something that is working away from control groups and often times you have try designing your research project to somehow give those randomized out a chance for being in. While I have not discussed this fully with Dr. Eve Puffer I believe this is a tactic she has used in a major innovation project fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Muhuru Bay, Kenya. The Byerly Foundation is currently funding a major project with the Hartsville Middle School called Foxy Leaders that aims to take students at real risk of not finishing school and giving them an even stronger foundation than they might get in regular classes. I am not sure how this could be an RCT. That is why it is going to be interesting to get that book and discover what they authors have found in their research.

Driving Social Change

2011-07-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Paul Light, a professor from New York University, has a recent book called DRIVING SOCIAL CHANGE, How to Solve the World's Toughest Problems.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif It is an interesting book but more for the academic side of exploring social change than the implementing side. That said, he has some great discussion points.

In discussing the "breakthrough cycle" he mentions some tools developed by RAND that "participants in social breakthrough can use to increase their effectiveness and targeting..." page 142 This is the idea that I wanted to highlight: ..."the key to alertness starts with a landscape of possible futures against which to plan, and continues with an honest assessment of what has to go right for nothing to go wrong and what cannot go wrong for a plan to go right."

Not totally sure why I am taken with this phrase but I think it points to a way of thinking about solutions that may often be ignored in the planning process.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The truth in today's world is that many of the smartest of social innovators are getting crushed by limiting visions of possible futures that are only based on their assumptions and views of the world. For example, when it comes to our present, who among us would have believed that two years after the recession ended we would still be experiencing nearly unparalleled unemployment? RAND does have something to say about this type of situation. When participants in a breakthrough cycle notice assumptions breaking down they need to be agile, adaptable and aligned. (page 142/143)

As I reread this post I wonder if there is enough context for understanding but instead of letting that be a worry I think will publish to see this generates any thoughts or aligns with some other reading and researching that is being accomplished in current innovation programs.

We are in the midst of driving some of this social change at Coker College and as I think of the things being planned, I wonder "what cannot go wrong for the plan to go right?"

Afghanistanism Takes on New Meaning

2011-06-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight President Obama is going to outline his plans for some type of troop draw-down in Afghanistan. For many of us the thought will be it is about time and for many of those the conclusion is likely to be "too little and almost too late."

Years ago when I was learning about some of the principles of journalism there were instructors who were on the soap box of local news and local opinion as a way to make newspaper more relevant. The term Afghanistanism was an unflattering term for editorials that took on issues so far away from the local people that the writer could be emotional - hard hitting -- vehement in his call to action. He could be that way because it was an issue too far away. That same editor would seldom take on the local political establishment or the the local hot-button issue. Those were some of the things separating good papers from fish wraps.

Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in the middle of Afghanistan with thousands of Marines and other combat troops and the issue is very real for Americans. Kabul is now a very real place. When the President talks tonight he is going to be addressing life and death issues with the American public.

I am longing for the time that Afghanistan was only the answer to some obscure Jeopardy question and not one of central problems of American foreign and domestic policy. I wish the President would take the unpopular road and pull most of the troops from garrison duty and put in forces like SWAT teams that can be deployed when required for a specific mission and then pulled back. The people in Afghanistan have never liked foreigners invading their land and it might be amazing to see what would happen if they were fighting their own battles. The President accomplished the major mission -- We got Bin Laden. We can leave with heads held high!

Dedication of Veterans Panel in Hartsville

2011-05-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

A great community event in Hartsville, South Carolina, this past Sunday, as the third wall of the Veteran's Memorial was dedicated. The Veterans Memorial, one of the largest in South Carolina, is located at Burry Park in downtown Hartsville. It is a memorial to all veterans as well as active military personnel. More than 200 people braved the Sunday afternoon heat to be part of this dedication. The Memorial itself was dedicated on November 11, 2010. The 246th Army Band was a highlight of the event. David L. Allen, a veteran of World War II gave the Keynote, a great discussion of Patriotism. I enjoyed this event for several reasons and primary among them is the way events like this help bring the community together.

Believing in your community is fundamental to building your community

2011-05-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

The past few days there has been some news about a variety of things taking place within the city that show leaders are moving to affect change that they believe will be important to moving us forward as a community.

For example, last night the Hartsville City Council took some steps to chanhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifge the way citizens need to handle the recycling and garbage -- they are hoping to eliminate the "Yellow Bag" program in the city of Hartsville.

This has been on the Mayor's agenda since he started running for the job. His talks with citizens reinforced his idea of the need to get rid of the Yellow bags because he found so many people who find them so aggravating. But, as the Mayor found out when he began his attack on this issue -- nothing is as simple as it seems.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The result of the focus on "yellow bags" is a partnership that has come about between the City of Hartsville and Sonoco aimed at expanding recycling in the community while adding to the efficiency of recycling and garbage collection. (This is not an issue on which I feel any competence but it is an issue that I think helps exemplify what it takes to affect positive change in a community.)

There are a lot of elements involved in this type of change and to affect change of this scope it takes people from differing areas demonstrating belief in process, demonstrating belief that others will cooperate, demonstrating belief thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhat the community is worth investing in with time, talent and treasure. Sonoco uses recycled materials for lots of their products and they became willing to collaborate. The mayor and city council members began to see how doing things a bit differently might result in doing things even better. The new city manager helped lots of people look at more than just the immediate issue and on Monday night a major step was taken to eliminate the aggravating yellow bags. While this issue may not yet be totally resolved, it is on example of how believing you can make a difference can result in actually making a difference. Rich Harwood, of the Harwood Institute, who often discusses community building does a good job of discussing this question of belief in his current blog.
The following is a paragraph from this blog and I find it important because without people reaching out to one another and beyond their initial reaction to an issue, nothing can be accomplished. This is what Rich Harwood writes: "The restoration of belief in ourselves and in one another is pivotal to all our efforts to make a difference in communities. Without such belief, we may hold back from doing what we know is required to bring about change; we may choose not to reach out and forge key relationships with others; we may step back just when we need to step forward."

In Hartsville we have a strong need to continue stepping forward!

Disasters need philanthropic response

2011-05-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

A news release from the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation underlines the idea that community foundations can often be excellent places for your donations to areas hit by disasters. The following release was posted today, May 5, by Susan Bankston of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation that serves the seven counties of the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina:

Disaster Relief Funds in Alabama and the Pee Dee Region

The tornadoes in the southeast last week left hundreds of individuals homeless and helpless. Volunteers and donations began pouring in within 24 hours to offer assistance and comfort to those affected by the devastation. The Pee Dee Disaster Relief Fund of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation (ECCF) was established for just such a purpose when natural disasters strike the Pee Dee region. When tornadoes damaged homes in Darlington in 2010, a grant of $3,500 from this fund was matched by the City of Darlington and used for roof repairs on several homes.

Local community foundations are a natural fit for such responses. Should you wish to respond to the need in Alabama, The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has established the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund to accept gifts that will in turn be used throughout the state in the regions impacted by the April 27 tornadoes. They will work to effectively deploy the resources that will be needed for long-term recovery. The Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund at The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham follows a model used by community foundations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. You can link to their homepage at www.foundationbirmingham.org. Please consider a gift to the ECCF Pee Dee Disaster Relief Fund so that we are poised to respond when natural disaster relief funds are needed in our own communities. Further information is available at our website www.easterncarolinacf.org or by calling 843-667-1131.

Susan B. Bankson

Executive Director

Eastern Carolina Community Foundation

234 West Cheves Street

Florence, SC 29501

843-667-1131

susan@easterncarolinacf.org

Full disclosure -- I have been on the board of the ECCF just about since the founding though my term ends at the end of May.

Some communities are not surviving, let alone finding ways to thrive

2011-04-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

We are facing some uphill battles in the Hartsville, S. C. area as we work to grow our community but as this article on Yahoo emphasizes, things could be a great deal worse, as they are for the communities cited.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

One thing that should become apparent from an article like this is that we cannot lose focus on our need to grow and our need to continue investing in our community. We can become the preferred community of the Pee Dee Region. It will take looking beyond how we do things now to how we might approach these things tomorrow. It will take a vision that community appearance does matter. It will take realization that all of us, those with children and those whose children have grown must ensure we have the educational system that we want for our kids available to all the children. We must realize thajavascript:void(0)t sometimes it takes investment to get a return on investment. None of these ideas come easily when the economy is shaky, when headlines -by their very nature - must point to the problems.

Yet, we have to focus day after day after on building a stronger, even better community because it is that kind of laser intensity that can make surviving become thriving. Lots of people drive into Hartsville every day to work. The ideal would be that lots more people drive home to Hartsville every day after work.

Community Building takes many forms

2011-03-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, March 15, volunteers for the American Red Cross were manning phones at WIS-TV in Columbia, SC to help raise funds for the disaster in Japan. The phone lines were opened about 4:30 in the morning as WIS provided air time to help make viewers aware of both the need for funding and the opportunity of calling the phone bank based at the station. There was a strong outpouring of support. The Japanese Red Cross is a very strong organization and they requested help in the form of money because they did have the volunteers and supplies to help the devastated areas but the need for money becomes to fund this type of relief is great. The Japanese had come to the aid of the American Red Cross several times including September 11 and Katrina. Community outreach is often part of community building.

Mayor's State of the City Well Received

2011-03-07T16:38:00.001-08:00

Mayor Mel Pennington gave a State of the City address to a crowd of close to 400 people (estimate) in the Watson Theater of the Coker College Performing Arts building on Monday, March 7. The audience was enthusiastic as the Mayor called on everyone to join hands to make this small city even greater than it is. I did see Harold Bledsoe recording the talk and that means you will be able to listen on his local Hartsville radio station.

The Mayor told those in attendance that he knew by their presence that they were interested in building an even better community and he said their efforts will be received with enthusiasm. The major thrust of his message was that a good needs everyone to pull together to become a great community and that is his vision for Hartsville. The Mayor told the audience that he thinks accountability like a State of the City is important and he wants to ensure the transparency of the city's activities as we embark on the vision of becoming a model not just for the Pee Dee but the entire state of South Carolina.

Following the Mayor's State of the City there was reception for citizens to welcome and meet Natalie Ziegler, the city manager. Those in attendance showed their appreciation for the Mayor's address with a standing ovation and many stayed around to discuss the event for sometime after the talk.

"It was just too ugly..."

2011-03-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

On my way to the State of the City talk by Mayor Mel Pennington I happened to notice a woman at the side of the bike trail on Dunlap Road cleaning up a mess of plastic bags. Those bags had been there for a couple of days -- figured they came off a vehicle driving by. There were a lot of them and they were ugly. "I was sick this weekend so I could not get out and clean those things up. They were ugly and they filled up this entire bag (a very large trash bag.) I just couldn't stand them there," she said as she began walking back across the road to her home.

Okay, so what is the state of the city. Based on this one incident it is positive and moving up. Of course someone did dump a mess (and that is pretty darn negative, tacky and illegal) but there was a neighbor who took things into her own hands, cleaned the mess and said effectively -- NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. When Flossie Hopkins way Mayor of Hartsville, she would say we have a city where people do complain but they will then join forces to help solve the problem. We may hear more from Mayor Pennington about that in the Watson Theater on the Coker College campus,and as I headed to the talk, I was able to witness some very hard evidence of one person making a REAL difference. I appreciate her effort! Because that pile of trash was TOO UGLY.

State of the City (Hartsville) == ???

2011-03-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Mayor Mel Pennington is working to establish a new tradition for the city of Hartsville, an annual STATE OF THE CITY address by the Mayor. This seems like a really good idea from a community building and community thinking perspective.

1 -- It gives an opportunity for citizens to stop and contemplate the big question of what is the current STATE of the city.

2 -- It gives the Mayor an opportunity to focus on those areas that he or someday she consider most important for positive changes to the state of the City.

3 -- It provides an hour or so to concentrate on the bigger picture of the STATE of the city rather than on all those daily items that generally plague big-picture thinking because they have to be accomplished NOW.

As a blogger what I would like most to accomplish by a post like this is to get responses to the question -- What do you think is the state of the city?

** In a conversation this morning one business owner told me he gets a very real sense that the State of the City is turning in a positive direction. He is feeling like there is forward momentum.

** So, what is it that you are thinking when it comes to the current State of Hartsville?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You get an opportunity on Monday night, March 7 at 6 p.m. to hear Mayor Pennington discuss this question at the Performing Arts Center on the Coker College campus. Following that presentation there will be a reception for the new city manager, Natalie Ziegler.

P.U.L.S.E. Initiative to Quicken Hartsville's Push for Excellence at all levels of education

2011-02-21T11:58:00.001-08:00

Harris DeLoach announces that Sonoco will invest $5 million in an initiative to put Hartsville area schools in competition for best in the state and maybe even the nation.

Caption -- Dr. Robert Wyatt announces a cooperative effort between the Yale Comer Project and Coker College to help make significant strides in elementary schools in the Hartsville area.

Caption -- People from many areas of the Hartsville community were on hand at Thornwell Elementary School on Monday (Feb. 20) to hear the major announcement of the PULSE initiative.

Sonoco announced this morning a major investment in an initiative called PULSE whose aim is to expand opportunities for excellence in the Hartsville area schools. This initiative is a major five million dollar investment and a combined effort of the Darlington County School District, Sonoco, Coker College, the Governor's School of South Carolina and the Comer Project of Yale University. It is an exciting innovation for Hartsville whose aim is to put Hartsville on the map when it comes to excellent schools in the State and in the nation.

The following news release comes from Coker College but you will also find a release from Sonoco that discusses their $5 million, five-year investment in this major program to push for Excellence in the Hartsville Schools.

Public-Private Partnership to Implement Comprehensive Scholastic Excellence Program in Hartsville, S.C., Public Schools

Darlington County School District, S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics,
Coker College and Sonoco Join Forces to Launch New PULSE Program

Yale University’s Child Study Center to Join Initiative with Pilot School Development Program in
Four Hartsville Elementary Schools

Sonoco to Support Programs with $5 Million Grant

Hartsville, S.C. – An unparalleled public-private partnership has been formed to implement a comprehensive scholastic excellence program in Hartsville public schools that will expand curriculum opportunities and further improve student achievement through collaborative academic and social development initiatives.

The PULSE (Partners for Unparalleled Local Scholastic Excellence) Program is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership involving the Darlington County School District, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), Coker College and Sonoco. Sonoco will fund the initiative through a $5 million grant that will be paid over five years.
“The P.U.L.S.E. program will set the standard for public school education in South Carolina. Through the opportunities and promise of this new initiative, the Darlington County School District can and will be
counted among the very best school districts our state has to offer,” said Dr. Rainey Knight, superintendent of education, Darlington County School District.

Yale’s Child Study Center to Help Create Pilot Elementary Student Development Program
A key component of the Hartsville PULSE initiative will be the implementation of a pilot School Development Program (SDP) at four Hartsville elementary schools that is focused on improving academic achievement and personal development. The program will be created with the assistance of Yale University’s Child Study Center Comer School Development Program, which was founded in 1968 by Dr. James P. Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry and associate dean of the Yale School of Medicine. The nationally recognized Comer SDP model has been successfully implemented in hundreds of schools in more than 20 states, the District of Columbia, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, England and Ireland. The pilot program will begin in the 2011-2012 school year in Hartsville’s Thornwell School for the Arts, Washington Street Elementary, West Hartsville Elementary and the Southside Early Childhood Center.

In future years, professional development programs for educators and multiple service-learning activities offered at Coker College via the growing Yale-Coker partnership will play a vital role in the continuing process of improvement in Hartsville.

“Development and learning are inextricably linked, but traditionally development is not intentionally addressed,” said Dr. Comer. “The School Development Program enables educators, parents and families, and community partners to support development, integrate learning, and as a result, improve academic and behavioral outcomes.”

Governor’s School, Coker College to Provide Curriculum Excellence Program
The second PULSE initiative is focused on expanding scholastic learning opportunities for eligible students in Hartsville’s secondary and high schools through collaborative teaching programs from the Hartsville-based GSSM and Coker College.

As an example, GSSM instructors will provide qualified Hartsville public school students with enhanced science, math and language classes, such as organic chemistry, advanced physics and Mandarin Chinese.

Coker College, a leading liberal arts private college also based in Hartsville, will provide college credit courses to eligible high school students in such programs as art, design, music, theater and dance.

“GSSM is a statewide residential high school for academically talented students that just happens to be located in Hartsville. As a result, there is no place we would rather make a positive educational impact than right here in our own backyard,” says Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president. “As a national leader in science and math education, we are excited beyond words to help implement a program that will advance the students of Hartsville in a way that exposes them to new opportunities and inspires them to reach their full potential.”

Brockman adds, “PULSE will be available to every student who meets the academic requirements, regardless of financial means, and it complements both local and statewide outreach programs already under way. Hartsville schools and our community’s commitment to education will look dramatically different in the next five years thanks to PULSE.”

“Students who aspire to scholarship at the highest levels can look forward to participating in intellectually enriching experiences in the fine arts under the mentorship of Coker’s distinguished faculty and in our unparalleled facilities, including the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center, a jewel of Hartsville named for South Carolina’s ‘First Lady of Letters,’” said Coker College President Robert Wyatt.

“And, as pleased as we are to welcome our community’s young women and men into Coker’s classrooms, we are humbled by the knowledge that working with Hartsville’s brightest young minds and with one of our nation’s strongest corporations will inspire us to strive for greater achievement as well,” he said.

Sonoco’s Targeting Education Improvement in its Hometown
Primary funding for the PULSE programs will come from a $5 million grant made over five years from Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies. Founded in Hartsville in 1899, Sonoco employs nearly 1,800 workers and has more than 750 retirees and their families living in the Hartsville area.

“We have always had a strong commitment to improving education in communities where we operate, particularly in our hometown,” said Harris DeLoach, Sonoco chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe we must continue to work with our public schools, as well as other centers for learning, to improve local educational excellence to ensure we have the workers we need to be competitive over the next century.

“In addition, we must do all we can to make Hartsville attractive to the others recruited to build our company and other businesses in the area. South Carolina, Hartsville and area businesses will not be able to grow without continued investment in education and economic development. That is why we are making this commitment to our public schools. Together we will all prosper.”

###

About Coker College
Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach. For more information, visit www.coker.edu. For more information, contact Barb Steadman, Media Relations Director: bsteadman@coker.edu or (814) 397-9959

Major fire brings out best in community

2011-02-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

caption -- Governor Haley talks about the response to the dramatic fire with Mayor Mel Pennington with Representative Jay Lucas, the chief of the Hartsville Fire Department and others who represent agencies helping to battle the blaze and its impact.

caption -- City, county, state and plant officials watch as the fire crews battle hot spots and the clean up of the fertilizer site is underway on Wednesday afternoon in Hartsville.

caption -- The disaster crew from the Red Cross was on hand for a few days helping to feed the many emergency responders who arrived in Hartsville to battle the fertilizer plant fire. This crew was from Horry County.

The following short tribute appeared on the City of Hartsville site and is just one of the many examples of people who demonstrated caring in light of the major fire at the fertilizer plant the other night:

Kudos to those who helped
by City of Hartsville, South Carolina - official site on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 4:14pm

Tragedy sometimes has a way of bringing out the best in people. According to Phil Gardner, Hartsville’s Parks and City Facilities Director, approximately 73 people stayed at the Coach T. B. Thomas Sports Center on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, February 14 and 15. These citizens were evacuated from their homes due to the fire at the former Agrium Fertilizer plant on Prestwood Lake.

In addition to the prompt response by the City of Hartsville and its employees, others in the community showed their concern as well: the American Red Cross was first to arrive at the Coach Thomas Center with cots and blankets, DSS was on hand to assist as needed, and Hartsville Councilmembers Billy Shirley, Bob Braddock and Johnny Andrews gave their full support. Community businesses of J. Michael’s Restaurant, Walmart Super Center, Coker College’s Aramak Restaurant, and McDonalds Restaurant provided various foods and water to the displaced citizens.

The Hartsville community acted quickly to help their fellow man. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to become involved!

Valentine's Day -- A wish for a day full of love; what would that mean to you?

2011-02-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

A wish for a day full of love; what would that mean to you?AND Happy Valentine's Day to you --

Love of a new day as you watch dawn break this morning while walking toward the East,

Love of the continuation of life as birds of several varieties sang their almost-spring morning songs

Love of something interesting around which to twist the brain as the office door opens

Love of the challenge of healthy living in the spin room and weight room later this day

Love of the excitement that's inherent in the mundane life of a sixty-something -

where the learning of the new and yearning for the more

begins to take on the fascination demonstrated by nine-year olds.

a candy treat, a couple of "love ya" and the day is full of love

Coker Establishes “The Last Lecture Series”

2011-01-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

Coker Establishes “The Last Lecture Series”

You go on sabbatical and miss all kinds of things. This will be a very valuable series for Coker College students. It is a really great idea.

Hartsville High Dedicates New Gymnasium

2011-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Caption -- Standing ovation for Coach T. B. Thomas and Coach Pat Hewitt

Caption -- Coach Pat Hewitt expressing appreciation for her having the new HHS gym named for her and Coach T. B. Thomas.

Caption -- Members of this year's HHS basketball teams.

The new Hartsville High Gym is named for Coach Pat Hewitt and Coach T. B. Thomas. Both of those coaches are long-time educators and extremely successful, you can say legendary, coaches on the basketball courts of Hartsville. Both Coaches spoke during the dedication and there was both a strong sense of history and a strong sense of personal, God-directed mission in their talks. Here is hoping that someone taped the presentations because when we hear the message of Hope coming from the National level in this country, both Coach Pat Hewitt and Coach T. B. Thomas gave life to that dream of hope in acknowledging how far they have seen this community move in their lifetime careers.

Coach Thomas, for example, was the athletic director, head basketball, football and baseball coach at the former Butler High School. I think he got to Hartsville in around 1951. He joined the Butler High School faculty where he stayed for until his retirement. Coach reminded the audience that his time was a different time. Butler, was one of two high schools in the small city of Hartsville. It was a time of segregation, which, truly, many of the people in the audience for the dedication, would not be able to imagine. But those were separate times. Butler, like Hartsville High, graduated students who have made significant contributions to Hartsville, to South Carolina and to the nation -- and Coach Thomas reminded the audience of that contribution. He also borrowed from Coach Pat Hewitt's talk, when he jokingly said, "Who would have thunk I would be in this position today?" Truly, a great deal has changed since 1967, the last time a new gym was dedicated in the Hartsville schools.

Coach Hewitt, who is possibly one of the most successful women's high school basketball coaches of the modern era, fought other battles. When she graduated from Coker College in the early 1970s women were not supposed to excel at athletics. When she took the job as women's physical education teacher and coach, she was not expected to craft strategies to build state champions. She was only supposed to give the girls a little bit of a physical outlet and maybe a small taste of competition. But, back then, no one want to spend any money on women's sports. In her talk at the dedication she mentioned that she lost a good bit in her early years. She had been bitten by the competition bug early and she did not like to lose. So she studied the game of basketball. Then, she worked with her peers to study more about how to develop girls into excellent athletes. She also did some study of what was called "Title IX" and lobbied hard to get more funds for girls' sports. The fact that her name is part of the new gym's name tells a great deal about her success. At one point in her coaching her girls had won 76 straight games at home. She challenged her team, which has a legitimate chance for State recognition this year, to build on the six wins they already have in their new gym and set an even more impressive record.

Truly, this dedication was an emotion-filled event. It is probably an event that can only be appreciated in a small city like Hartsville, where people do know and do care for each other and their histories and where two coaches can vocally, emotionally and faithfully give credit to their God for whatever success they have experienced in helping to develop the character of the students and players they have touched.

Coach Burry, who is also Dr. Charlie Burry, principal of Hartsville High and a native Hartsvillian, capped the event by dedicating the new gym to STUDENTS. He said this new gym is for the students of today because of what has been built by the students from Butler and the students from Hartsville High. In a very real sense he was dedicating this gym to tomorrow's students, who will most benefit by the character that today's students will build as their legacy.

Sometimes, a gym is much more than a gym, sometimes (and today was one of those times) a gym is a reflection of a community that is built as people join together in a team year, after year, after year.

Hartsvillians Pray for the community

2011-01-30T11:33:00.001-08:00

Prayer chain stretched far down Carolina Avenue between Fourth Street and Sixth Street on Sunday afternoon as citizens prayed for the community in light of some horrible criminal incidents. The prayer chain is an example of the strength of word of mouth and social media but more importantly of the desire of people to join in making for a stronger community.

Hartsville perceptions -- the good and the bad

2011-01-25T07:52:00.001-08:00

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with the Hartsville Kiwanis Club about the Byerly Foundation. I always enjoy being able to update groups on the Foundation and to also talk about Hartsville as part of that type of presentation. The primary mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help make Hartsville one of the best communities,anywhere, to live and raise families. So, you can see why I talk a great deal about this community in such a presentation.

For this particular talk I thought I would use a couple of minutes for a quick survey and I asked those present to give me their immediate thoughts when "Hartsville" comes to mind. I also asked them for what they perceived as the biggest problems we are facing in our community.

What are the problems?

The number one perceived problem in the Hartsville community in this unofficial poll turns out to be crime with youth gangs mentioned often. There were other issues that were at the top of mind like dilipidated buildings - particularly houses in the South Hartsville neighborhood but also some for shopping areas. The Kiwanians also noted the need to extend the city limits, to improve the entrance corridors, to improve education, and pay more attention to street paving in several areas of the city. One person said the most crucial need in the area was for more jobs. Another wondered what would now become of the Bank of American building since the bank has announced it is moving from the center of town. This summary is not exhaustive but it does give some quick idea of what is on the minds of area residents.

The other list about what comes to mind when you think about Hartsville was a positive list that includes ideas of a little city with a metro environment and progressive people willing to cooperate and collaborate. Several institutions including Sonoco, Coker College, the Governor's School and the Nuclear plant were noted in the poll. Generally these Kiwanians were positive about the resources available to continue building a great community.

What are you thinking about the issues and the resources we have for building our community. Would love to get some comments to begin such a discussion.

Professor Foster urges awareness to complete the revolution

2011-01-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

Coker College was back to class on Monday, January 17, 2011, and took some time during the night-class hours to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Professor John Foster borrowed from the school's theme of "Redefining Ready" as he asked faculty and students to pay more attention to the need for continuing the revolutions begun with the words and action of Dr. King and those who joined him in seeking justice, equality, and inclusion in the American Dream for citizens of African descent.

Professor Foster used portions of Dr. King's final sermon about the "Man who slept through a Revolution" to urge continuing action to keep the dream of a country free of racism alive and continuing research, study and discussion so that as we continue to remember what happens when man is more concerned about what he wants and not at all concerned for what his neighbor needs. (I will admit to paraphrasing here and I know Professor Foster would love to discuss the thoughts he shared in the Watson Theater this evening in more depth with any who ask to talk.

MLK Day is about Community Building

2011-01-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE of Hartsville,SC. put on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative service at the First Baptist Church on Monday, January 17. Those in attendance were moved through words and song to look upon Dr. King's legacy as a dream in progress.

From this citizen's perspective, it is uplifting to be reminded of this dream in progress. First Baptist hosted the event this afternoon something that back in Dr. King's days would not have been possible and probably not even imagined. It did not matter the color or the creed -- those who were there were connected by the dream. All of us, from youngest to eldest, have been changed because of Dr. King. As Reginald Alford led GOD BLESS AMERICA at the end you could feel how we can now all truly come together as Americans.

There are still things to be accomplished. It is a dream in progress. That is why there are organizations like People to People of Hartsville, whose mission is to "initiate, encourage and cooperate in efforts to promote multi-racial and multi-ethnic understanding by drawing together individuals , agencies, and organizations committed to working for the betterment of the entire community." If you would like to be part of such an organization, the group meets at Florence Darlington Tec - Hartsville campus on Swift Creek Road the first Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. Clayton Richardson is one of the forces keeping this group moving forward. You may reach him at 332-3420.

Dr. Luns Richardson, president of Morris College, and native of Hartsville was the guest speaker for the commemoration.

Discussion of the power of words is interesting

2011-01-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of discussion over the rhetoric that has been used over the past several years to tear our country apart. People on both sides pretending that their words were not meant to inspire action. Give me a break. The whole purpose of rhetoric is to inspire action. The problem is that rhetoric can inspire but often times it cannot control. The shooting of Congressional Representative Giffords is horrible and there is no one cause but I think we can all agree the shooter did not just wake up in a social vacuum one morning and decide to kill. He is responsible for his thoughts, his actions and his schema but there were a great many people whose unquestioning self righteousness helped him form those ideas. Those who have rhetorical power should understand this power and take some responsibility for the way their audience understands the words, symbols and frameworks those words help people construct.

This coming week we are honoring a Community Builder whose rhetoric helped to change the direction of our nation. He had the power of rhetoric and he used the power of rhetoric. But, the reason I am using Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example is that the rhetoric of Dr. King stood in direct contrast to the rhetoric of several other major civil rights activists and civil rights opponents. One of the major phrases in the speeches of many who were fighting for civil rights were words to the effect of "by any means possible." The reason white men as well as black men will honor Dr. King this Monday is that he cautioned against such "Means" and allowed people to see another way. His non-violent perspective did not make him popular in many civil rights groups. Contrast Dr. King's "Dream" with what we hear today and you can see and feel how rhetoric can build instead of destroy. On Monday, when we honor Dr. King, there may be more to our celebration that we might at first understand.

Welcome to BCAC

2011-01-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Organizations that help build community can come from all areas of our lives. The Black Creek Arts Council is one such organization and this is the connection to their new web site.

Welcome to BCAC

Thoughts on community building

2011-01-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

This semester (from not until May)I am on sabbatical from teaching at Coker College to work and think more about community building ideas. I will be using this blog to surface some of this discussion through the months.

In Hartsville, SC, we are unique in that we have an ongoing process of community building. Sometimes the community building works and sometimes it doesn't. We are a small city that I often describe as cosmopolitan in nature. But our core, our culture, our community is at risk in this changing world.

We have to continue a focus on community building because 1)small communities are not for everyone but to grow and build you have to attract those who will choose small 2)Like so much in our lives the major strength can be a major weakness. We are home to a multi-billion dollar global packaging company that gives us a major cosmopolitan advantage but recruiting to small-town America (Hartsville) is not easy 3)we like a certain standard of life and standard of service from our government but in this age there are not many who enjoy taxing themselves for this quality we expect.

The list could probably go on as to why we need to continue to focus on building. We are good, we have a history of good but I often use the quote from a former boss -- "When you stop getting better, you stop being good."

Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute has devoted his life to helping community builders think about community building. His current blog discusses five major ideas for rebuilding America and I think his blog is worth the read.

His five points are:
1 -- Turn outward toward community.
2 -- Focus on people's shared aspirations, not the community problems.
3 -- Get people doing actual work together.
4 -- Move in a common direction that adds up to something real in the community.
5 -- Tell stories of self trust and hope.

He has a solid grasp on these ideas and anyone thinking of community building should be reading Rich's ideas -- even if you end up not agreeing.

Protect the Urge to Build

2010-12-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Rich Harwood of THE HARWOOD INSTITUTE has a very interesting Podcast for the holidays. His advice in this short discussion is to people who have the urge to build their communities. His advice in this short discussion is motivating to those who want to make changes to better their communities. His words in this discussion are an admonition to not let the forces of negativity overcome the urge to join with others to make real differences in our communities. I listened to this podcast twice and hope that readers will listen to it at least once -- because all of use need to remember that building community and building our communities is important for our present and our future. Not everyone wishes for community yet nearly all of us do realize we get more done together than we can ever accomplish divided.

Walter Edgar interviews Greenville Mayor

2010-12-10T10:23:00.001-08:00

The interview that is currently airing between Walter Edgar and Knox White is inspiring from a community building perspective. The major lesson remains, nothing happens overnight but nothing happens if people do not join together to make things happen. That is a lesson we learn over and over again in Hartsville but it is also lesson we have to keep teaching ourselves. Hartsville is good but right now - not great. Hartsville can be great -- if we want to be great. We are a small city. We will not be for everyone but we can be much more enticing and attracting that we are right. We have to keep working. (Hartsville was just mentioned in a sentence with a number of other progressive cities -- it is the company we want to be in. We have to keep ourselves in this company.

This week I was speaking with a high school student from Long Island. His father had been in Greenville many times on business. The prospective Coker student and Coker lacrosse player, described the downtown as "cute." Not a bad description coming from a teenager. His father also mentioned that Hartsville did remind him of Greenville, even if on a smaller basis. We have the basics but we need to work much harder, doing much more to become a totally attractive place to live and visit. We have lots of people working on this. We have lots of ideas percolating. We need to find ways to continue working together from all our areas (divided any way you might want to think about it) if we are going to survive the set of challenges that are now facing us.

Knox White just said the first time he saw someone taking pictures of downtown Greenville was in 1999.Today cameras and tourists swarm downtown Greenville every weekend and often during the week.

Walter Edgar's Journal will air again on Sunday evening and I hope others will listen. Mayor White had a short paragraph about the need for inclusion and the difference inclusion makes. He said when you do not include you run into lots of problems. I think his quote was, "You pay for it dearly."

Monday, we welcome a new city manager, Natalie Zigler. She will be walking into some amazing challenges as she moves into her office on the first day. I hope those of us who have been living and growing in Hartsville continue to rally and help her and our current City Council become those people we look back on in five, ten or fifteen years with a pride for the positive changes they were able to help us develop as a community.

List some challenges --

We have some beauty spots -- Coker College for example but one look at our entire city and you know we need real emphasis on beautification.

We have high-achieving schools -- but try to prove any of our schools are high achieving to a first-time visitor who (with the exception of the Middle School) sees buildings that have been and look like they have been around for five or seven or ten decades. You want to know what difference a nice looking school makes -- talk to the people who work and learn at the middle school or to the people who teach and learn at GSSM or to the Coker College students who inhabit the new library and information center.

We have some unique retail experiences -- but if we are going to be a mecca for shoppers, we need a lot more unique retail experiences.

We have a cosmopolitan atmosphere -- that we often keep hidden from outsiders. In the arts -- you won't find many communities of our size with our offerings -- but many who live in Hartsville are not aware of a portion of what is offered.

One person for whom I used to work had a saying that I have used in many group discussions having to do with community building. His admonition was "When you stop getting better, you stop being good." We have lots of room to get better.

GSSM to the Max

2010-11-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

The Hartsville based South Carolina Governors School for Science and Mathematics unveiled their newly constructed, newly named buildings during a ceremony this afternoon inside their new gymnasium.

IMPRESSIVE

This high school is one of the top high schools in the nation and the vision, drive and energy that is powering this institution is moving it toward the next level of being one of the most forward-thinking, high-achieving high schools in the world.

They joked a little during the presentation that maybe it is time to think of renaming Hartsville --- SMARTSville for smart people that represent so many of the areas that make our community so unique as a small city in the U.S.

Of course, part of the SMARTS is represented by the junior and senior students from around South Carolina who do the final two years of their high school work at GSSM. I was talking to one proud parent of an alumn whose son is finishing UGA in three years. His son's girl friend, also a Govvie, is finishing Vanderbilt undergrad in three years. Both are getting ready for graduate school.

The new name they are giving the Governor's School is E=MCsquared. The new name symbolizes Roger Milliken -- as the M. He donated the land on which the GSSM campus is situated. The C-squared = Campbell, former Governor Carroll Campbell, and Coker, Charlie Coker, former chairman, president and leader of Sonoco who joined forces to make the idea of this two-year accelerated, residential high school a reality in South Carolina and Hartsville.

The other major "Champions" of the school who were recognized with parts of the Campus in their name are Senator Gerald Malloy who worked hard to get funds from the state appropriations for the growth of the school; Representative Jay Lucas who provided that same type of leadership in the House of Representatives. The Activities building is named for Senator Malloy and the Academic wing is named for Representative Lucas. The female student living quarters are named for Representative Dennie Nielsen, a Darlington County representative who also worked for this funding. The male residential wing is named for Dr. James Daniels, former president of Coker College, where the Governor's School resided during its first few years.

It was an invigorating afternoon at the GSSM celebration and those of us who play host to this great school in our Hartsville community need to be proud they are with us and understand how this institution brings distinction of a cutting-edge variety to our cosmopolitan small city.

Community Thinking: Veterans Memorial Dedication a Great Event

2010-11-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Community Thinking: Veterans Memorial Dedication a Great Event

Veterans Memorial Dedication a Great Event

2010-11-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Warner DeHart, an Air Force veteran and former director of the Darlington County Veterans Department, was one of the primary movers to get a Veterans Memorial in Hartsville. As he spoke at the dedication on November 11, 2011 he talked about how pleased he was that his efforts and the efforts of others have materialized after 14 years into the tremendous place for Veterans in the heart of Hartsville -- Burry Park.

The story of this memorial is a story of making things happen in a community and that story includes frustration as well as celebration. The key lessons from the Hartsville Veteran Memorial in regard to community building is that almost nothing happens if there is no vision and nothing happens without PERSISTENCE. For all those who worked over the years to make Burry Park happen, THANK YOU. There is no question that today's celebration of Veterans and the families who support them. showed why your hard work and persistence were worth it.

November 10 - Birthday of the Marine Corps

2010-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Once a Marine, always a Marine. There is no such thing as an ex Marine, only former Marines. God be with those Marines still in harms way today - November 10, 2010. Hoo-Rah and Semper Fi.

2010 United States Marine Corps Birthday Message
11 min - Nov 2, 2010
Uploaded by OurMarines
youtube.com

I am a believer that you can hate the war but love the Corps.

Hartsville -- The Art of Good Living

2010-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

And it certainly does help that Hartsville is also a College Town.

Dr. Graham Wood distributed the following email on the Coker campus this morning and I think it pays for Hartsvillians to take note of all that is happening:

This kind of schedule is not happening in lots of small cities!!

Attention performing arts fans, the fall season of shows is only just beginning. Starting Friday 12th and ending Friday 26th November there will be five (count them, five!) performances by visiting dancers, actors and musicians in Hartsville.

Dance:
Doug Varone Dancers
Friday 12th @ 7.30pm in Black Creek Arts Center
Includes post-performance discussion with the company
Free

Doug Varone Dancers (hosted by the Coker Dance Program)
Saturday 13th @ 7.30pm in Watson Theater
Free with Coker ID
http://www.coker.edu/featured-links/4-features/1230-award-winning-choreographer-and-director-comes-to-coker.html
http://www.dougvaroneanddancers.org/comp_about.php

Theater:
National Touring Company Aquila Theatre present’s Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(hosted by Hartsville-Coker Concert Association)
Tuesday 16th @ 7.30pm November in Watson Theater
6.30pm pre-show lecture by Dr. Ronda Knight, Associate Professor of English, Coker College
12.30pm physical theater workshop (sign up on musical theater notice board)
Free with Coker ID ($7 non-Coker students; $25 non-Coker adults)
http://aquilatheatre.com/

Music:
Barry Salwen, guest pianist from UNC Wilmington will play music by Beethoven, Gershwin, Sessions and Debussy
(hosted by the Coker Music Program)
Thursday 18th @ 7.30 in Watson Theater
Free
http://www.uncw.edu/music/salwenb/index.html

Jacquelyn Culpepper (soprano) and Philip Bush (piano) present a guest vocal recital
Friday 19th @ 7.30pm in Watson Theater
Free
http://www.jacquelynculpepper.com/?pagename=About%20the%20artist

Graham Wood
Associate Professor of Music
Coker College
Hartsville, SC

Darlington County Habitat accelerates buiding

2010-11-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

With a great deal of assistance, cooperation and energy the Darlington County Habitat for Humanity has become one of the more prolific home-builidng operations in the State.

There is recent newsletter talking about the how the Welsh Neck Baptist Church Association is going to take on the responsibility of finishing three homes that were begun this summer with a large team down from Maryland the a team from the Hartsville First Presbyterian Church, which has been one of the major church builders in HABITAT.

Have lost the graphics, but here is the copy of the Habitat newsletter:

Welsh Neck Baptist Assoc.
to Complete
Three Habitat Homes

The Darlington County Habitat for Humanity is pleased to announce the adoption of 3 Habitat homes by the Welsh Neck Baptist Association, Hartsville. Church members from the 36 church association have agreed to complete the construction of all three Habitat homes on Heatley St. Completion of the homes will bring Darlington County Habitat’s total to 25 homes. Volunteers plan to work Thursdays and some Saturdays until all the homes are completed.

Mark Haenchen, Habitat Executive Director stated, “We are very excited about joining with the local Baptist Churches and having their help with these homes.”

Construction coordinator, Ray Graham, will be leading the project. “We have lots of excitement about working together to build a home. We plan on doing all the landscaping on a Saturday so all our youth can volunteer.” Over 50 volunteers are expected to participate during the construction.

Home Dedication Scheduled
DC Habitat will dedicate the next 3 homes to to the families of Sheila Bell, Larry DuBose, and Ronald and Betty Coe. The dedication service will be this Sunday, Nov. 7th @ 3PM. Follow this link for more details. This will bring our total to 21 Families served in Darlington County.
Meet Larry DuBose,
One of Habitat's Newest Homeowners.
For several years, Larry DuBose of Hartsville has been seeking indpendence and stability in his life. He believes he has found both in the Darlington Co. HFH Homeowners program.
DuBose, a retired welder, who was badly injured in an auto accident, was accepted into the program last July. His home will be dedicated this Sunday.
" I would like to become independent and not have to depend on anyone but Jesus." said DuBose. He plans to continue working with Habitat after he moves into his new home.
Walmart awards
$1,000 grant
DC Habitat is very grateful to the Hartsville Wal-Mart for awarding them a grant of $1,000. Did you know that one of our homeowners is an associate at Wal-Mart?
You Can Support Habitat Online

Talking about community building in Kenya

2010-10-20T04:13:00.001-07:00

The health of our children is perhaps one of the most crucial areas of community development. That is one of the areas on which Eve Puffer, my daughter, is working in her third year as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Duke Global Health Initiative. There is an article in the Duke Global Health newsletter talking about some of this work. I think you will find it of interest and may even find some relevance to other community building work needed right here in Hartsville, South Carolina and the U.S.

Coordinating Council Coordinating in Darlington County

2010-10-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

"Stronger together" is the them of the Darlington County Services Forum 2010 being held at the Lakeview Baptist Church in Hartsville on October 14.

The event, which was kicked off by Senator Gerald Malloy and Representative Jay Lucas, had nearly 40 agencies meeting together and giving very short blurbs about their mission and service opportunities. The Forum is a chance for the various groups, whose primary mission is serving people, to learn how all might work together even better to improve services, get a bigger return on funds invested and make even more of a difference in building community. The Darlington County Coordinating Council meetings on a monthly basis to ensure more frequent contact but they hold an annual forum to help each other get a strong feel for the bigger picture.

One of the key events at this forum will be a presentation about the state budget and state funding estimates for the next fiscal year. That is probably not going to be an optimistic picture as predictions are that the state budget may be even tighter next year than it is right now. That is one more reason the coordinating council is playing such an important role. While some people aren't keen on government, I wondered as I sat listening to presentations, what the people served by these agencies would do if these agencies did not exist. For me, that was a scary thought!

Growing Young Leaders

2010-10-02T03:48:00.000-07:00

Dr. Tim Elmore is on a quest to grow young leaders and I have some of his materials and think he has some very interesting ideas about leadership growth among the younger generation. His newest book is GENERATION IY, OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THEIR FUTURE. This morning he has a blog post from one of his student interns. I really like the idea of having young people talk to each other about things they have found important and think that is a good way of communicating. I hope to use a few of his ideas in the First Year experience I am teaching at Coker College. Since leadership is so important to Growing Community, I thought I would share the 10-2-10 blog post they distributed. Here is is:

Tim Elmore - Guest blog post by Growing Leaders Intern, Tess Harper

________________________________________
Guest blog post by Growing Leaders Intern, Tess Harper
Posted: 01 Oct 2010 04:00 AM PDT
For the past few months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to serve as an intern at a non-profit organization called Growing Leaders. Created in 2003 by Dr. Tim Elmore, the mission of the company is to reach out to students by providing them with resources on how to be successful leaders. The most captivating part is that their definition of “leader” is not necessarily someone of success or wealth, but rather someone of great values and immense character. This concept of leadership has enabled me to discover my own capabilities as a person of influence.
I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. As a freshman, I was very intent on one day becoming a broadcast journalist, and being a platform for the unheard voices of my generation. However, with the inundation of technology in the classroom during my college career, my journalistic dream had to transition into one that embraced social media and online blogging as a way to stay “connected.” My internship at Growing Leaders has allowed me to do just that; connect with children and young people, as well as older adults who have an interest in transforming society.
Upon my arrival at Growing Leaders, Dr. Elmore was in the process of promoting his book, Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. This was a great time for me to join the team, because I felt that the book highlighted all of the frustrations I had felt with not only my generation during college, but also the hampering side effects technology had on our society. Before, I felt as if I saw my peers becoming less and less engaging and personable as they were immersed in the culture of social media and its isolating effects. The best part though was that the book, as well as the organization itself, offered authentic solutions to the apathetic ethos young people had created and how everyone involved, whether it be students, parents or teachers, could help.
If I were asked to choose one word for my internship experience thus far, I would choose “growth.” There have been a few challenges to my internship, which have caused me to recognize my weaknesses and find ways to improve them. The experience has also highlighted my strengths and showed me how to use these skills to become a successful leader. I have been given the opportunity to interact with Generation iYers and provide ways, as Tim likes to say, “influence the influencers,” which is an invaluable experience.
Tess
——-
For more info about internship opportunities with us at Growing Leaders, check out our website here. We are currently looking for a spring intern to begin in January 2011. We’d love for you to join us!
If you would like to speak with someone here at our office with any questions or need more info, please contact us at 770.495.3332. Thanks!
Tim

Asking, reflecting, pulse taking all help in building

2010-09-28T11:19:00.001-07:00

The past two days I have spent a couple of hours at the Downtown Development Offices in Hartsville. On Monday, I had the opportunity of facilitating a debriefing of the ROCK THE BLOCK event that was held a few weeks ago in Burry Park in downtown Hartsville. This is the second such debriefing I have had the opportunity to take part in. It is really great to be with people who have done so much to help make this community an even better place to live, work, play and raise a family. The debrief is to get a view of what people think worked, what they think might be redone and what concerns they might have going forward. The debriefs seem to me to be a crucial part of the community building process and HDDA seems to have them programmed into their process.

On Tuesday, Todd Shifflette of Care South South Carolina held a small focus group to assist with information gathering for the strategic plan his organization is undertaking. Care South serves the health care needs of under insured and others and they are a significant medical service provider in this area of the Pee Dee. Again, it was interesting to watch an organization gathering input and also to watch relationships continue to build. Often times, in a small community, people think relationships are just natural. There is nothing natural about working relationships and they need to be sown, watered, fostered for the good of the individuals, the organizations and ultimately the community.

In communities, good things don't just happen, good people work to make them happen.

Boundary-spanning organization

2010-09-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how much most people think of an arts group as a boundary-spanning organization but there is little question in my mind that for Hartsville, SC, and the surrounding area Black Creek Arts Council is such and entity.

This past Thursday evening they had the monthly gallery opening and this one features three artists. If you are in the area you should really stop by to see this work -- both upstairs and downstairs. There was a large group of people attending the opening on Thursday, which was sponsored by Segars Prudential Realty. There were members of artitst's families, there were people who really like the arts, there were students and professors from Coker College, there were people from around Hartsville of a wide variety of backgrounds. Black Creek Arts works to attract people from these backgrounds and they are one of the organizations who are very successful at spanning the artificial boundaries that often keep people in both small and large communities.

'Philanthropy is not a solo act'

2010-08-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog is borrowed from an article on the web site of the CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY that is about the Giving Pledge that garnered a great deal of news coverage on Wednesday. This article discusses how much the idea of philanthropy has evolved since 1899 when Andrew Carnegie attempted to persuade some of his rich friends to give away some of their money.

While the article catches my interest because of my involvement with The Byerly Foundation, it is also of most interest because I serve as a board member from Darlington County on the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation. The ECCF is the first community foundation to be established to serve the Pee Dee of South Carolina. The Eastern Carolina Community Foundation, which was founded in 2006, joins at least seven other community foundations in South Carolina. Those Foundation in total have assets of more than $350 million in philanthropic funds. The largest community foundation in the State is the Coastal Community Foundation, which is located in Charleston, SC with assets around the $110 million mark.

The purpose of community foundations is to make philanthropy efficient, effective and energizing for both the donors and the communities and projects they serve. Donors can set up dedicated funds that are managed by the Foundation, allowing them to let the paperwork and the worries rest with the Foundation while the donors get a say in helping direct the monies to those areas they most want to serve.

There is a lot more to the story of community foundations in general and the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation in particular. Anyone wishing to know more about the ECCF, which is headquartered in Florence, should call Susan Bankston, executive director, at 843-667-1131. A major advantage of the community foundation concept is that the funds develop much more power working together than they can ever have alone.

Community Building requires Community Storytellers

2010-08-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

In a recent email from THE NONPROFIT QUARTERLY magazine they had an archived article about the need for story telling when it comes to building momentum. Seems to me one of the things lacking today in the discourse that is disguised as dialog is a context. Stories help us provide context.

We are in meetings a lot as people around Hartsville work to find ways to make this community even better. Sometimes we hear great stories, most of the time we hear opinions. The article in NPQ does provide some real food for builing a story-telling skill. Susan Nall Bliss wrote the article and she built a case for why stories are important and also provided examples from some master journalistic story tellers. Here is a paragraph sort of setting up the need for story telling: In the opening pages of Tropic of Capricorn, Henry Miller famously intones, “I will give you Horatio Alger as he looks the day after the Apocalypse.” Miller was castigating the inability of the myth of the Rugged Individual or the Self-Making Person to capture the reality of life for many Americans in the 1930s. A contemporary update might read, “I will give you the Ownership Society as it looks the day after the levees broke.” That story, still in the making, would focus our attention on the things we must do together, because they cannot be done individually: from building roads and a reliable healthcare infrastructure to improving schools and repairing the ladder of opportunity in our society.

I recommend this article and then I recommend HartsvilleToday as a place to put some of these stories that can be told for our community and some of the stories that you might imagine if we don't continue to pay attention to positive growth in our community.

Economic Development Meeting is about survival

2010-08-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

There is a task force that is working on the question of Economic Development for the city of Hartsville. This is a fairly large task force and we just had a meeting on Monday, which was a good way to start August.

It is always a bit exciting to discuss the things that might come to be with a focused effort. Always, the students at Coker, the students at GSSM, the students at HHS when asked what we need in Hartsville say CHICK FIL A and we spent a good bit of discussion time wondering how to gain some attention from those who establish new Chick-Fil-A operations around the Southeast.

And, we also spent some time reminding ourselves that Hartsville has a strong base from which to work on these questions. When you compare the Hartsville downtown to other small-city downtowns around the state you can see there is a foundation. And, as a foundation you can then notice that people will and do invest their money in their dreams for prosperity in Hartsville. Frogmores, for example, just opened a fine-dinging establishment. A few weeks ago a new jewelry store opened its doors in our downtown. The weekend brings activities, like Hartsville Idol, which will have a rare two-night event this Friday and Saturday.

These new businesses and activities add to the businesses and activities that have made Hartsville different from other towns our size. And, as the Mayor mentioned during this meeting, a quick drive through other small towns will quickly show you why we see such potential in Hartsville. But, without those who have dreams of what can prosper Hartsville can quickly become those small, getting-smaller towns that dot the landscape all over the South and all over America. Economic development is an activity that needs our constant attention as community builders. Taking advantage of the uniqueness that is our small city is also something that will help keep those dreamers coming and keep the dreamers who have invested thinking about expanding in this city. So, if you ever think, "I wonder how I can help?" a great way is to visit and buy at a Hartsville business and then find those who are working on ideas and add some of your own input. Enhancing quality of life in small communities is a daily chore.

What are some metrics to great places to live?

2010-07-12T06:54:00.001-07:00

As we talk about finding ways to make Hartsville, South Carolina, one of the best places in the world in which to live we try to keep up with the 'competition' that is identified through things like 100 Best Places articles. This article in MONEY lists some of the best small cities. Okay, so if you read the article, you find out that this is not the ballpark that a Small city the size of Hartsville can compete in but it seems that if you are going to make a livable city list and be competitive, you have to know what they have.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/100-best-places-to-live-in-america-2010-edition

Dan Edelman’s 10 Principles for Success

2010-07-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Dan Edelman’s 10 Principles for Success

One of the courses I really enjoy teaching is Public Relations and we have a couple of ways we teach that. One of the significant portions of the Marketing Communication course that I teach includes public relations. And, occasionally I get to teach the Principles of Public Relations Course and regularly we teach Public Relations Writing.

Dan Edelman is one of the PR professionals I looked up to in my formative public relations years. His agency was once one of the most resptected independent Public Relations firms in the business. I believe we should learn from some of these guiding lights and the 10 success principles that were released as part of the celebration of his 90th birthday are, I believe, valuable ideas for thinking about key behaviors in business and life. Were I teaching the class now, I would be sharing this article with students. Since we are on the summer break it is nice to be able to share via the blog.

Is the US the only nation with a birthday?

2010-07-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

July 4th is almost upon us.

We celebrate the birth of this country we call the United States of America. I do love living here and have an almost impossible time conceiving of living in any other country. And, one of the things I have noticed in my limited travels in other parts of the world is that many people have that same feeling for the place they view as their homeland. Apparently, for many in our race of humans, we are hardwired with an attachment for home.

That could be one major reason why those who founded this country back in the 1770s faced so much dissension as they tried to persuade people independence was THE solution. It was, after all, a minority who wanted their total independence from the motherland of England. South Carolina did have Francis Marion but we also had one of the most vocal population of loyalists in the colonial land.

The celebration of the birth of our nation is a time for celebrating and, as Americans we have a special form of nationalism and patriotism -- reminding ourselves with eye-popping fireworks, patriotic, martial music how much we love our country. Maybe, as a friend said, we are a bit more demonstrative in the "love" of country than others (at least until World Cup) because our country is so relatively young. It seems to me good to remember that while other peoples don't always make the same display many also love their homelands. In 1969, on July 3 at a place called Go Noi Island in the Republic of Viet Nam I was reminded of that fact. It was there where a booby trap (IED in today's parlance) provided me and several others of my Marine platoon with our own personal fire work. I know that today, somewhere in Afghanistan and maybe Iraq, the same thing has happened to other Marines and soldiers.

As we celebrate our Nation's independence on July 4, 2010, we have Americans and allied fighting forces in places like Iraq, and in villages, towns and provinces of a place we call Afghanistan, on the border between North and South Korea and so many many other locations around the globe facing people who are also willing to die for their beliefs,their ways of life, their homelands.War is a complex endeavor and should never, ever be an easy choice.

I see by the headlines in today's paper more troops are leaving South Carolina for war. The past few days I have walked by my neighbor who is just home from his second recent war tour. I hope we all continue to not only thank them for their service but ask those who make the plans and the policy to ensure there is reason for them there and that we have the resources and will to support for decades after they return.Sometimes wars end, but memories of war go to the grave.

Our Youth are such a strong asset in this country

2010-06-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

All the time I am hearing stories about the youth of America that emphasize things not good. And, being the Pollyanna I am, I wonder where these people who tell those stories so incessantly live. I generally see Youth doing fantastic things and this week and next in Hartsville we have concrete evidence.

Today is Friday, June 25, 2010. The temperature is hovering between 94 and 101 as I write these words from an air-conditioned office. And, as I write 118 high school students and about 40 advisors are over on Heatly Drive in Hartsville erecting three (3) Habitat for Humanity homes. I tell you when you watch two young girls helped by two young guys lift a wall and put it in place you have a perspective on youth that burns into your gut. That happened just a few minutes ago and will happen all afternoon. The kids are leading the effort. The kids are doing they work. They are supervised, but the leadership is obviously student centered. Amy, whom I had the chance to meet is 17 a co-chair this year. "I can't wait until next year, when I can be the chair of the project," she said. She is a rising senior at her high school.

Here is the note Mark Haenchen, executive director of the Darlington County Habitat for Humanity sent out earlier this week about the project:

Hartsville is about to be invaded by Severna Park, Maryland's WoodsWork. A group of 120 youth and 42 advisors are coming to build 3 Habitat homes and finish a 4th home started by UUCC last week. They will be here one week, then their college age allumni will be here (32 of them) to put siding and sheetrock on the homes.
To imagine the size of this group, they would fill our movie theater. It takes half a semi truck load of food to feed them, and they are ordering 80 large pizza's for dinner the evening they arrive.
Construction of the homes will begin Friday at 1211 Myrtle St. and all along Heatley Dr. between Arbor Dr. and Security Dr. Come out and watch this crew in action. It is amazing what these high school students can do in a week.

Habitat a magnet for volunteers

2010-06-22T04:35:00.000-07:00

Habitat for Humanity of Darlington County has one of the most active building programs in South Carolina and maybe in the country. Mark Hanechen, executive director, reports that this week Hartsville is going to be invaded by a force of more than 120 high school students from Maryland helping to build three more houses and finish a fourth that was begun last week by students from the Unitarian United Church of Charlotte. Here is part of Mark's note about this group coming to Hartsville:

Hartsville is about to be invaded by Severna Park, Maryland's WoodsWork. A group of 120 youth and 42 advisors are coming to build 3 Habitat homes and finish a 4th home started by UUCC last week. They will be here one week, then their college-age alumni will be here (32 of them) to put siding and sheetrock on the homes.
To imagine the size of this group, they would fill our movie theater. It takes half a semi truck load of food to feed them, and they are ordering 80 large pizza's for dinner the evening they arrive

The Hartsville First Presbyterian has also committed to building a Habitat house and this group, which provides homes for people who will put in the time to help in the building and some funds to buy the home makes homeowners of people who otherwise might not have been able to BUY.

Check out Darlington County Habitat for Humanity, their resale store, and all of the projects they have ongoing.

Community Garden

2010-06-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I commented on the Hartsville Community Garden that has been started as the brain child of Nancy Myers and moved forward with her energy and the assistance of a significant number of people. This photo link will take you to a web show of how this miracle is producing

Going the Distance with Kendyl Seawright / CokerCobras.com

2010-06-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Going the Distance with Kendyl Seawright / CokerCobras.com

this is a blog posting from Kendyl, one of Coker's cross country runners and a very familiar runner around Hartsville because she is on the road so much at many different times of the day that lots of people who drive by really do feel like they know her. Kendyl, who is from New Jersey, is staying in Hartsville this summer and this is an interesting story of one workout.

Primary election day and most say, "What?"

2010-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

...and those who are not saying what are often saying, "what's the use," and that leaves often a minority of us voting. In his weekly blog today, Rich Hardwood discusses some of the antipathy of voters. In addition, he gives an idea or two about how to start reversing this antipathy. It is his idea that sparked the thought of this post.

Harwood says we need to do something disruptive to the the business as usual. He then says we need to take that narrative and get people to hear it, to discuss it and to think how they can become part of the positive disruption.

I am a bit of a polyanna but I was thinking that Hartsville has a variety of narratives that are disruptive to the 'business as usual' types of activities that are angering voters here and around the country. We have some narratives that need to get more of a hearing.

Narratives like the Team Foxes Learning Academy -- an effort by the Hartsville Middle School partially funded by a grant from The Byerly Foundation to help turn around students who have a history of not succeeding in school.

Or, in another vein it could be the individual and team effort that is going into the production of the Hartsville Idol event on summer Saturday evenings in downtown Hartsville. A few thousand enjoyed the event this past Saturday.

The narrative could be a combination of stories of people in the Hartsville community like Nancy Myers and Teresa Mack, who make things happen like the Hartsville Community Market and the growing Community Garden or the South Hartsville Community Association.

And, the narrative might be the amazing work being done in the Darlington County community with very active of building Habitat for Humanity for homes. Now we have multiple homes going up regularly when only a couple of years ago it was one or so a year.The idea for narratives can go on but you can begin to see there are disruptions to the status quo and these "disruptions" can give us something to continue building on as we start setting forth a vision to put Hartsville at the top of the list of small cities that people want to live in.

Terrance Herrington Track Dedicated

2010-05-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

And, the dedication ceremony was a tribute to Terrance Herrington, one of the most skilled and successful athletes to come from Hartsville. And, the dedication was a tribute to Hartsville. I find it a bit difficult to put into words but the feelings of pride in their home town from those who spoke this morning were a testament or testimony to how people make things happen for people.

The roster of speakers says something about the event. Mayor Mel Pennington kicked off the event, which was a tribute to the City for honoring one of the most successful athletes to come from Hartsville. (Look at the photo of the plaque for some of the reasons why.) Anthony James -- in many memories one of the most successful running backs and track stars of Hartsville fame; Danny Nicholson, another fast moving trackster, now VP of Development at Carson Newman College; Dr. Jimmy Bell, one of the most successful quarterbacks to guide Hartsville, Jay Lucas, another successful Hartsville athlete and hard working S.C. Representative and Gerald Malloy, Senator from Hartsville, who had the initial idea of naming the track at Byerly Park for the runner who was once the fastest in the state, fastest in the country and competing for fastest in the world. Also speaking, though he was out of the country, was Paul Rogers, who coached and trained Terrance in his formative years, and who was a Hartsville and Duke University track star.

There was a great story in the MESSENGER that announced this event and I hope many read it. And, there were inspirational elements in each of the short talks this morning but the message of accepting your blessing and making the most of the gift came through loud and clear -- for all of us in the audience. Dream, hope,and then work to make the hope real and the dreams come alive was one of my takeaways from this impressive event. (Thanks to all who made the morning's tribute such a success.)

Team Foxes Learning Academy Honors Achievements

2010-05-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

It was a bit emotional to view. A seventh grade student called up to present flowers to a homeroom teacher calmly took the microphone. Then, he turned to face the seventh grade teaching team. 'I want to thank you for the way you helped me deal with my problems and learn to deal with people.' You can see a single quote mark, because I wasn't taking notes. His message was one of appreciation and was most impressive because seventh grade boys don't regularly make demonstrations of appreciation. His gesture was heart felt and it was a gesture of someone who had felt true support in his school life. he quickly went back to his script and presented the homeroom teacher the flowers but that was a powerful moment.

The Team FOXES Learning Academy is a program that began with eighth graders in 2008 and has been expanded to sixth, seventh and eight graders with support of the Darlington County School Board and a significant grant from the Byerly Foundation. The story referenced above appears to be representative of some of the major strides this program is making in helping students get back on track for school success in these Middle School Years. The hope of the Byerly Foundation when the Board approved the three-year grant for about $1.5 million was that this would be a program that could help students turn around their feeling for school. The honors program on Thursday night made it feel like that is happening.

How do you protect the "Urge within?"

2010-05-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

One of the things on my mind much of the time when thinking about community building is how to continue my own personal motivation for making a difference and how to spark and sustain that motivation in others.

Today, the Harwood Institute put out a small video slice from Rich Harwood about the importance of this "urge within" and I did want to share that through this blog.

Just the other day there was a meeting of a economic task force, sub group, interest group -- for the city. I put down all the names someone might call it. As I sat listening to the people involved I was again amazed at all of the people adding their talents to help make Hartsville an even greater place. There were many other places most of them could have been but they were around the table using their talents and creativity to think about how to make Hartsville better. We are fortunate in Hartsville that we still have a great many people who will work to help make a difference. If a community is going to grown -- you all are needed to make it happen.

How to promote your town using real-life stories | Article | Homepage articles

2010-05-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

About two years ago we built some of the "Selling Hartsville" program around stories that were told by people who moved to and/or lived in our great Hartsville city. Stacie Fields was working as an intern at the Byerly Foundation and wrote several of these stories. I figure there are lots of stories out there that can give credence to the story we tell about Hartsville as a place for pleasant surprises. This article is a case history from the a larger city in Canada that used this strategy:

How to promote your town using real-life stories | Article | Homepage articles

2010-05-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

Community building is about consensus building and consensus is in generally short supply in the current environment at nearly every level of government. On Sunday THE STATE newspaper of Columbia had two articles that I noticed discussing the need for coming together. The first was an editorial by Cindy Ross Scoppe about the candidacy of Vincent Sheheen for governor of South Carolina. The other article was by David Gergen,called HOW MUCH GOVERNMENT. The article was a back-page column in PARADE magazine. He discussed the metaphorical daggers that everyone seems to be bringing to political and problem-solving discussions. He made a good point about not being able to solve problems when facing daggers. While I am on the other side when it comes to government, Gergen had important things to say about the discussion process. Just thought it would be good to note some of this very important food for thought.

http://www.thestate.com/2010/05/09/1277538/scoppe-tackling-big-issues-seeking.html#RSS=Cindi%20Scoppe

Community Foundation Sparks Disaster Relief Fund

2010-05-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

The tornadoes from a week or so ago in Darlington County were the spark for a new fund at the Eastern Carolinas Community Foundation, which serves the Pee Dee. The fund and a way to expand the fund was developed after former Mayor Frank Willis of Florence talked with Susan Bankston of the ECCF to see if the Community Foundation could help with relief efforts in Darlington County. I am attaching an email that announced to the ECCF board that the fund had been established and that the Darlington Raceway had agreed to allow the fund raising:

It’s official, race fans!! We have established the Disaster Relief Fund and put $2,500 in it. Thanks for your voting responses.

Hats off to Paul DeMarco for giving us 5 hours today to make money collection at the race tomorrow a reality. Not only did he go to bat for us by cold calling raceway officials yesterday, but he received permission for volunteers to stand with buckets just inside the entry gates for collection purposes. THIS IS AN EXCEPTION they are making for us!!

So this morning, Paul and I have been to Darlington and Lowe’s and have put together the buckets w/ our identification. We are in the process of finding volunteers to man the buckets/gates and are hopeful that Boy Scout troops in Florence and Darlington counties will help us tomorrow. I have had three conversations already today regarding scout availability, and Paul is taking it from here. He is even returning early from a family trip tomorrow in order to be at the raceway and coordinate the volunteer effort. Thank you, thank you, Paul!

Please help us spread the word. If you have friends or relatives attending tomorrow, remind them that the ECCF will have tornado relief buckets inside most of the gates and would appreciate donations of any amount. Who knows………………we are probably setting ourselves apart as the first community foundation ever to have a collection process in place at a NASCAR race!

Gentlemen (and ladies), start your engines,
Susan

Susan B. Bankson
Executive Director
Eastern Carolina Community Foundation
234 West Cheves Street
Florence, SC 29501
843-667-1131
Susan@easterncarolinacf.org
For Good. For Ever.

Clayton Richardson -- Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award Winner

2010-05-03T05:18:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Coker College presented Clayton Richardson of Hartsville with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for service to community. I have known Clayton for many years and have been impressed by his zeal to help make Hartsville one of the best places to liven anywhere - for ANYONE. Clayton was one of the founders of a group that still meets in Hartsville called PEOPLE TO PEOPLE. The purpose of this group was to provide a place where people could discuss issues within the community across all the artificial barriers from race to position that are part of a community. The fact that People to People has continued meeting is a testament to the persistence that Clayton brings to helping solve problems and face issues in our community. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and came back to live in Hartsville after his Air Force years were complete. While Mr. Richardson does go to meetings, his primary purpose is helping to get things done. A week or so ago when the Great American Clean Up was happening -- he was there -- picking up litter (bags of it). Clayton is a doer. He is a believer that working together communities can accomplish great things. He is one of the persons I consistently look toward as example for what it means to be a community builder. Coker's recognition of Clayton Richardson with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award brings as much honor to Coker as it does to Clayton.
(Photo caption: Dr. Joe Rubenstein, education professor, looks over the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award being held by Clayton Richardson (left).

Hartsville, S.C. Cosmopolitan and Eclectic

2010-04-30T08:00:00.001-07:00

From barbecue on the grill to gospel in the park, to canoes and kayaks on the lake to love letters on the stage, to a marketplace along the way, to graduation in front of Davidson, to Old Timers frolicking, to scene-setting blue jeans this last day of April and first days of May have something for just about everyone in Hartsville, SC.

Check Hartsville Downtown Development
Check Hartsville Chamber of Commerce
Check City of Hartsville
Check Coker College of Hartsville
Check Facebook OUR HARTSVILLE
Check Hartsville Community Players
Check Good Living Marketplace
Check Darlington County Tourism

Where do you find this much happening in cities even twice or four times Hartsville's size? And it all takes people who are committed to making their home the best possible place to live!

Good Living Marketplace in Hartsville

2010-04-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

The Good Living Marketplace is going strong in Hartsville, South Carolina, where we like to say we celebrate "The Art of Good Living." The Good Living Marketplace, which has been growing for more than a year in the city's downtown, shows how people can come together when they find the "sweet spot" of concern or delight and make things happen. Nancy Myers got with Judy Elvington of the Hartsville Downtown Development Association and made the Good Living Marketplace happen and it keeps happening, bringing 'Pleasant Surprises' for all who attend every month.

It was beautiful out there today. The booths were a mix of vendors and non profits, the weather could not have been more beautiful, the HHS Jazz Band was adding the music and it was another great event in a town that is maybe too used to great events.

Also in town this week was the Southeastern Baseball Classic. This tournament has been going on for 14 years in Hartsville and this year there were teams four or five states along with two South Carolina teams. Jim Money, who has been working with the classic for longer than he has been director of Darlington County Tourism, said that he estimates conservatively that the teams and fans accounted for somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000 economic impact.

Often I have the opportunity of being in meetings to discuss the economic development of our area and there are many who believe we could become a tourist destination. We have a downtown unique in that it still has a cohesiveness that has been lost in cities and towns across this nation. And, Hartsville gets more than its share of visitors because of the efforts of the volunteers who put on events like the Southeastern Baseball Classic and Hartsville Idol, and Jazz Carolina and RenoFest and this list could go on and on. But, there is something missing. i think it would be interesting to have some further community discussions about what it is that might be missing.

Community building through community gardening

2010-03-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago Nancy Myers told me of an exciting idea that she not only had percolating but that she had already started executing. That idea is the construction of a community garden for the Hartsville area that will assist people in growing their own vegetables and maybe even enough produce to also sell at the Hartsville Good Living Marketplace. It is one of those ideas that makes so much sense you wonder why such an place has not been in Hartsville forever. Well, it is now coming.

There is a great story about the garden on SC Now.com that talks about a variety of groups, including Nancy and her grand children, who cleaned up the garden spot this past Sunday.

From a community building perspective this is one of those projects on which so much comes together. You have a person with an idea who is not afraid to ask others about helping to implement. You have "others" who understand the benefits and say Yes. And, then, because you have a "sweet spot" things move. Many people in Hartsville will be enjoying produce from this garden spot this year.

Country Driving talks about community, page after page, after page

2010-02-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

Might observe that the last thing I expected when I downloaded COUNTRY DRIVING, A JOURNEY THROUGH CHINA FROM FARM TO FACTORY was a book about community building. And, I am not sure what Peter Hessler would think of my describing his new book this way but it is full of observations about community and particularly communities in change. You will find that link taking you to a book review by a professional book reviewer (Jonathan Taylor) and you may want to take that route. Hessler writes for THE NEW YORKER.

My thought as I picked out this read/listen was that I would learn a little about some Chinese geography that I could never have found in other ways. I did, but this book is so much more. Hessler use country driving as the vehicle for discussing the profound changes that have taken place and are taking place in China. At times as I listened I was thinking, this is how it must have been in the USA in the late 1800s and early twentieth century but it really is not. The millions of people that Hessler describes as moving from village to city are not immigrants -- they are Chinese. The millions of people he describes as having cities built right around their small little village are all Chinese -- though he notes they don't exactly see themselves that way. I found this book fascinating because Hessler, like Thomas Friedman, has a knack for telling a big story through individual persons and when you hear the story of the person, you feel the story of a people.

This is one of those books that can open discussions along many tracks. For example, did you know that 2009 was the first year that automobile sales in China exceeded automobile sales in the USA. And, as you read Hessler's book you will begin to notice that that isn't a useless factoid. And, do you have any idea where your recyclables are ending up? Hessler will tell you where, who and how. And, did you know ever really understand that the number of children you have is not up to you -- unless you decide it is up to you -- and are willing to pay the fine.

China change now seems to be almost the norm but after driving with Hessler for a couple of years you have to wonder how the Chinese psyche is adapting to the cataclysmic shift of culture that the Great Wall was erected to protect against.

This may not be a review that gives you great insight into the book but I think you will find the book giving you a thrist for more insight into how China is not only coping but is apparently succeeding in creating a new society with guanjo (favors) and a far too many cigarettes.

This really is a book about community building.

Hartsville Community Building in fun ways

2010-02-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Nancy Myers started the Good Living Marketplace a little more than a year ago and this Saturday there will be another gathering of people in downtown Hartsville (rain or shine). This Marketplace, coming in February, is at the mercy of the weather but we have been pretty fortunate with weather. The Satuday (2-6-10) them is "Souper Bowl Saturday" Cook-off? Cook-off participants will be local restaurants.

When I talk with Nancy Myers I always get charged up about the difference one person can make. She was discussing a new project that will be allied with the Marketplace. It turns out that in our area we do not have that many "produce" farmers. Now, there are some notable produce producers and they did exhibit at the marketplace but we are not overwhelmed. She has found a potential site for a community garden spot that will allow people in Hartsville to get some small plots on which they will be able to plant produce that they will then be able to sell. She has even found some volunteers who will help prepare the entire garden. This is going to be interesting as it unfolds.

We have to believe that there are lots more projects like this one that can be realized one upon the other so that we are able to build a critical mass of hope as we work to make Hartsville into one of the best communities to live.

Connecting or reconnecting with People

2010-01-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

Rich Harwood just published his regular weekly blog and he is talking about four ideas for President Obama's State of of the Union speech that will be Wednesday night. Rich talks about the importance of real people in real communities who are right now are wanting to feel authentic Hope. He is talking about how the President might be able to ignite some of that hope.

Right here in Hartsville, SC, we are looking for that same Hope that Rich refers to when he references places like Detroit and Lansing, places he has held recent Public Innovator workshops. There are many community builders in Hartsville who know how important hope is to our community. One thing we have been able to preserve in our community is some authentic hope.
1) We have had a recent city election and a new, young Mayor has been elected and he has a goal of pulling Hartsville together. When you talk to Mayor Pennington he will tell you that his campaign changed him. When he announced his candidacy it was because he wanted to be mayor of this small city. While running for office he learned on a daily basis how much people in this small community both need help and need focus for their community concerns. He is working to connect the people to the way things are done so that things will get accomplished.
2) Early last week the Chamber of Commerce held a meeting with a great many real estate agents in Hartsville as part of their effort for carrying forward the Selling Hartsville campaign. To have that many people taking time to learn even more about the community than they already know shows the resources we have available for change.
3) Last Thursday the Chamber held their annual dinner and again it was evident the support in this small city for moving forward. The banquet was well attended. Gordon McBride, a person who has been working for decades to help make Hartsville an ever better city, was named Rotary Citizen of the Year. Gordon has worked with all areas to continue improving the community and he is an outstanding example of why we can and do have hope for continuing to make Hartsville an even greater place to live.

People are working with people in Hartsville. Is there more that we can do? Is there more that we must do to bring this community together? The answer there is a resounding YES. Can we bring about the changes needed? We have people who know about the importance of planning and putting forth stretch goals. We have people who have worked the plans they have developed who have experience in making good things happen. We can make positive change come alive. We also understand that this will only happen with people connecting with people.

Muhuru Bay, Kenya Collaboration in action

2010-01-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

My daughter, a community psychologist, is currently working on a specific community building project in Muruhu Bay, Kenya. Last summer she set up a research project to identify some of the key issues and she is now working with community groups, especially churches, to come up with programs that may lead to some ways of stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS among young girls. This post includes her most recent blog about this effort. She is working with the Duke Global Health Initiative in the WISER program, which just opened a school for girls in Muhuru Bay.

Community Building Resources in unlikely places

2010-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

Mitch Albom is on fire as an author and his newest best seller is titled have a little faith - a true story(sic). Honestly, this was the last place I thought I would be getting thoughts on community building. But, I encountered a pleasant and interesting surprise as I read this book about the rekindling of faith, much of it about the author's meetings over the past eight years with his "Reb."p

Toward the end of the book (a quick read of less than a day) there is a discussion about a special reunion-honor service for Rabbi Albert Lewis, who had led his congregation for six decades. The Rabbi and the author, whom the Rabbi had asked to do the eulogy at his funeral, were discussing the turnout and celebration. I am going to quote part of what he wrote so you read what I mean about community-building thinking; This quote begins on page 223: " "I tell you," the Reb said, shaking his head as if in disbelief, there were people who hadn't seen one another in years. "And when I saw them hugging and kissing like such long lost friends -- I cried, I cried. To see what we had created together. It is something incredible."
"Incredible? My old Temple? That small place of Sabbath mornings and funny holidays and kids hopping out of cars and running into religious school? Incredible? The word seemed too lofty. But when the Reb pushed his hands together, almost prayer-like, and whispered, "Mitch, don't you see? We have made a community," and I considered his aging face, his slumped shoulders, the sixty years he had devoted tirelessly to teaching, listening, trying to make us better people, well, given the way the world is going, maybe incredible is the right description." (223-224)

Rabbi Al stayed with his Temple for more than sixty years. Rabbi Al was a leader with a vision and energy, and caring and compassion and knowledge and more -- portraying many of those traits and characteristics we need if we are going to build effective communities.

Even for those who have a problem with "faith" this is a good read. In fact, it might be those of us with that problem who will get the most from what feels to me like a very practical book for today's world.

Judi Elvington -- Imagination, Execution & Service

2010-01-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Judi Elvington officially retired from her position as Executive Director of the Hartsville Downtown Development Association as we began this new year. She served in her job for 19 years and during her time we saw some great things happen to downtown Hartsville. She was in her job as the downtown was totally revisioned. She worked hard to make many of those things happen and was an active member of the team that helped Hartsville win the All America City designation in 1996. Judi provided years of service that were filled with really good ideas and strong execution and to this day we talk about the importance of downtown to the GROWTH of this community. Here is a blurb about the retirement party that was held for Judi on Thursday evening from the "Our Hartsville" (Jana Longfellow) write up:

Our Hartsville
Hartsville Downtown Development Association honored Judi Elvington tonight(Thursday, January 14) at BCAC for her 19 years of service to the downtown businesses, and the community at large.

Several presentations were made, including the South Carolina Downtown Development Association, The City of Hartsville, and the HDDA Board of Directors.

The following article published in November highlights her career and the awards she helped to win in Hartsville.

http://www2.scnow.com/scp/news/local/article/elvington_to_retire_in_december/87985/
Location: Black Creek Arts Center 116 W. College Avenue, Hartsville

Judi is one of many people who the community has called on to lead our community. One of the strengths of this city is the willingness of many people to step out and accept the challenges of change and growth for our small, cosmopolitan city. We need these leaders.

Community building as part of the effort to win in Afghanistan

2009-12-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

STONES INTO SCHOOLS is Greg Mortenson's continuing tale of promoting peace with books not bombs in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is literally hot off the presses and out of the recording studio. I have been captured by this book, a follow up to THREE CUPS OF TEA. Mortenson's story is riveting and even though the timeline is sometimes complicated, the story is fundamental. Mortenson is talking about how change can be most effectively implemented and his basic lesson, repeated throughout the book, is that personal relationships are crucial and listening is probably the most important skill that a change agent brings to the table. (Btw -- Mortenson would never use a word like change agent.)

Mortenson, who works through his NGO (non governmental organization) called the Central Asia Institute, has found his ideas from THREE CUPS OF TEA becoming required reading for US Military officers. He has also found over the past couple of years that the military is quickly coming to understand the importance of "understanding" after eight years of stalemate in Afghanistan. On page 253 of this book, Mortenson also makes a short case for the liberal arts (one of the strengths of Coker College where I teach in the Communication Department) and I thought I would share that in this note: Mortenson is observing the ideas now being discussed by top ranking combat leaders and this is the quote: "Equally important, however, is the effort on the part of soldiers -- especially officers -- to master the cultural nuances of the countries in which they are deployed by embracing fields of study that include anthropology, history, sociology, language and politics. The aim is to enhance security by fostering relationships and building a sense of trust at the grassroots level with community leaders, village elders, and tribal authorities." Those ologies are part of the liberal arts foundation and I imagine I will be sharing Motenson's thoughts with some of my advisees who wonder why they have to take subjects not directly in their major.

For the idea of Community Thinking, however, there is also a major lesson. If we are going to build a collaborative, constructive problem solving technique in our communities those who are in sections and positions of leadership probably need to look a little deeper into the communities they are hoping to build.

Turkey Trot is fun start to Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

It looked like the runners and walkers at the Hartsville YMCA Turkey Trot of 2009 were one of the largest crowds since the race began in 1992. It was foggy but fun. This is one of those "homecoming" events that is like a big reunion.

The YMCA staff and volunteers have been working this race on Thanksgiving and those of us who participate say THANKS to these volunteers and the Hartsville police who also provide on route protection. Thanks!

One of the runners in today[s race was Clyde Weaver. Clyde has been running for a long time, long before running became cool. And he has kept at it. He said the heart is ticking great but the legs are beginning to go -- maybe because he has been on the go for 86 years, many of them as an elementary school principal. He finished the 3.1 mile course in 64 minutes -- my running hero.

Classical Music in Hartsville

2009-11-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

Quick Observation --

Last week in Hartsville, S.C. there was enough classical music to program an entire evening on National Public Radio. On Tuesday evening the Faculty Recital by Dr. Jun Matsuo and Professor Serena Hill; then a Community Concert piano recital on Thursday evening by Tian Ying and then on Sunday evening the Coker Singers, joined by professional soloists and a Chamber Orchestra performed REQUIEM by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart under the direction of Dr. Will Carswell, professor of music at Coker College.

Hartsville is a small city that we bill as Hartsville, The Art of Good Living where we suggest that you can always "expect pleasant surprises." On many fronts, we think there is a great deal of evidence that will show most people this is not hype or puffery, Hartsville has a great doing going on in many areas from arts to sports, to shopping, to just plain community.

It is small city America and those of us who have discovered this place, our place, remind ourselves to be Thankful in this season of Thanksgiving.

Talented Singers from Hartsville performing in Lake City

2009-11-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

This morning I came across a Google Alert about Hartsville that announces the Hartsville Chamber Ensemble performing in Lake City. We know they will be in for a professional, enjoyable performance in Lake City.

New Mayor takes oath of office

2009-11-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Mayor Mel Pennington took the oath of office on Tuesday, November 10 following a glowing tribute to outgoing Mayor David McFarland, who took over as Mayor of Hartsville when Mayor Holt became Family Court Judge Michael Holt. There were a great many people at the early part of the City Council meeting this evening as a large group of family and friends also attended the meeting as Wanda James was sworn in as a new city council member.

Strong communities need leaders who can build strong coalitions that are required to navigate solutions to problems in our complex municipal/government environs.

The video in this blog is of City Attorney Marty Driggers giving the oath of office to Mel Pennington, new Mayor of Hartsville.

Congratulations Mayor Mel

2009-11-10T04:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night, November 10, 2009, Mel Pennington will take the oath of office as Mayor of Hartsville. He has a vision and is formulating plans and approaches for his process of helping lead this small South Carolina city. The thinking he we need an active leader to take Hartsville to the next level. Congratulations Mr. Mayor.

Trick or Treat at Byerly Park

2009-10-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

Just reading the "ezine newsletter" from the City of Hartsville and they have a Trick or Treat event scheduled for this evening at Byerly Park from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Also in that newsletter is a very short news piece that reminds us that nearly $80 million has recently been invested in and around downtown Hartsville. There continues to be news about things going on downtown, like the pending opening of a new restaurant Bow Thai, which should happen early next week.

And, we have the election for Mayor and three city council members coming up on November 3 in Hartsville. Had a coffee last night on Mayoral candidate Mel Pennington, who has been holding a series of meetings at the Midnight Rooster to take about city issues. And, this past Tuesday there was a Forum at Second Baptist Church for the City Council candidates to talk about their ideas for the city. Only one of the three races for City Council is contested this year.

While on updates, the citizen journalism website that is owned by THE MESSENGER crashed a few weeks ago but it is back UP AND RUNNING thanks to a great deal of hard work from a Media General web guru and the founder of the site, Doug Fisher. The HVTD.com site is where you get your Hartsville news quicker and well worth a visit.

Mayor's Candidate Forum Interesting Event

2009-10-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

A good sized crowd was on had for the Mayor's Candidate Forum on the campus of Coker College in Hartsville on Tuesday evening. Candidates Pam Sansbury and Mel Pennington presented some of their views about moving Hartsville forward in these down economic times. The Forum showed two good candidates for Mayor and also highlighted some of the issues that face the city as it hopes to continue moving forward. There is a link here to the Jim Faile news coverage of the Forum that appears this morning in both THE MESSENGER and MORNING NEWS. The video clip that is included here is just to give readers a flavor of the scene. Dr. Jim Lemke of Coker College moderated the Forum.

Hartsville Musem feels pain of vandalism

2009-10-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

It is never easy to figure out why some people are so absolutely STUPID. Why would anyone with any kind of thought process find it amusing to destroy. The people who help preserve Hartsville’s past are trying to figure that out. Thom went into the Hartsville Museum on Saturday and found that the “Byerly Baby” statue had been horribly vandalized. Today, when you go by the garden between the Museum and the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce you will notice the head missing from the statue, which used to frolic in the Rose Garden at The Byerly Hospital.

In this blog the subject is community building and community thinking and one thing we all understand is that our community is strong because of the links to our past. Those at the Hartsville Museum are protectors of this past and they feel, as I am certain do a great many people in the community, a sense of betrayal by the senseless vandalism. These kind of senseless acts bring out the not-nice side of some of us, wishing that we might be able to use those who do things like this as punching bags for an hour or two or three or… In my case, I am thinking of a Twilight Zone type of retribution that has the spirits of the Byerly babies haunting the person’s nights so that every time they close their eyes for sleep another macabre scream shocks them awake. I know, too much thinking about retribution takes away from the continued building that needs to be accomplished.

The trip over to the Museum did uncover a great deal of activity that is ongoing in the efforts of protecting and promoting our past. Penny Anthony said orders are coming in for a book the Museum has published called Postcards from the Hartsville Museum Collection. The books will be available in November and they are selling for $22.95.

Kathy Dunlap, Director of the Hartsville Museum, also noted that progress is now being made on the annex the Museum is developing across Fifth Street from the Museum. The Hartsville Design and Review Board has signed off on the plans for the new façade and the Museum is going forward with the renovation of this space in two Phases. Fundraising has provided enough funds to get Phase One off the ground and the Museum personnel are confident that they will also be able to raise the funds for Phase Two in the near future. Their renovation plans for the buildings took a hit with the economic downturn and this news that things are again moving forward is good news for the community.

Economic Discussion at SCANPO Round Table

2009-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the total employment in the United States has dropped between June 2000 and August 2009. This means that even though the population in the United States has grown, we have fewer jobs today than we had in 2000. So, according to Dr. Donald Schunk, the Research Economist at the BB&T Center for Economic and Community Development at Coastal Carolina University, the continuing recovery is very likely to be felt as a "jobless recovery." For non-profit organizations and others in South Carolina this slow recovery could feel like no recovery.

The next part of the meeting was a panel discussion of selected non-profit organizations discussing what they have tried to do to withstand the ravages of the current economy. This session shared some of those things we like to call "best practices" among organizations.

A key idea for me from this panel discussion was the overall agreement among the panelists that keeping their stakeholders at every level informed of what was happening and what was being considered, was one of the most useful strategies. As a communicator, I see most crisis situations as needing some form of strategic communication and the panelists put an exclamation point on my belief. John Singerling, chief operating officer of Palmetto Health Richland, told the audience that he was about to start a speaking tour that will have him in meetings with all of the thousands of employees in his organization. He stressed the need for total transparency in these times and he noted that these face-to-face meetings helped ensure the necessary transparency. Also on this panel were Mac Bennett, CEO of the United Way of the Midlands, Dr. Elizabeth Flemming, president of Converse College and Ken Trogdon, CEO of Welvista.

SCANPO President Mason Hardy and his staff did a good job of putting together a strong, relevant Executive Round Table.

New Carolina (Tm) Opens for Business

2009-10-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

There is a multi-page advertisement in today's STATE Newspaper that provides an introduction to an organization called the S. C. Council on Competitiveness and their economic development campaign they are calling NEW CAROLINA.

From a community building and community thinking perspective, this NEW CAROLINA campaign is both exciting and interesting. One of the major reasons for excitement is the composition of the board of this council. There are surprises. Some of the surprises come from the diverse backgrounds of the movers and shakers that have signed on to be part of this New Carolina movement. One of the surprises is the theme of this movement -- NEW CAROLINA. One thing that is not very popular in South Carolina is significant change and the organization is calling for a significant new perspective on our State.

Several years ago, 2004 or 2005, I had the opportunity of being interviewed by one of the graduate students working with Michael Porter of Harvard University on the study of South Carolina's competitiveness. The unveiling in the STATE today lays out some of the key strategy that has been developed from that study. The points coming from Michael Porter's study are exciting, especially if those in the leadership positions can begin to make this cluster concept take hold in the minds and actions of South Carolinians. I know there was a meeting of economic development directors from around the S. C. in Greenville this past weekend. I wonder if they were briefed on the unveiling of the NEW CAROLINA program? They are among the people who can help craft new attitudes because many of them are already part of public/private partnerships with clear missions.

Here is some of what the website says about the mission of this new organization:
South Carolina must re-learn to compete. We must become a New Carolina.

South Carolina's Council on Competitiveness is a public-private partnership working with partners to increase per capita income and drive the movement towards a New Carolina – a South Carolina with a brighter future and a competitive, winning economy.

We have a clear, measurable definition of success. Steadily raise the average income of South Carolinians, which is now just 82% of the national average. Our focus is on Harvard Professor Michael Porter’s strategy to:

* Play to the strengths of our core industries: find, birth, build and celebrate clusters
* Change the economic environment through innovation in business and education
* Connect the dots across efforts and start conversations around positive change

There are some key players from the Pee Dee who have been ground-floor leaders in this new initiative and they include Harris DeLoach, President of Sonoco, and Darla Moore, who has been very active the past few years working to make South Carolina more competitive. It is Moore's name that graces the entrance ways of the University of South Carolina award-winning business school.

Community thinkers and community builders in South Carolina need to pay some close attention to how they might get on board this NEW CAROLINA movement.

"Tomorrow's Philanthropy Today "

2009-10-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

was the theme of the Executive Round Table, an initiative of the South Carolian Association of Non Profit Organizations (SCANPO) that was sponsored by Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. in Greenville, SC on October 15 and 16.

The Executive Round Table had been cancelled in 2008 as the crippled economy made it difficult for any organization to think about much more than its own existence. The 2009 Executive Round Table had 80 people registered. Mason Hardy, President and CEO of SCANPO said this was the largest crowd that has participated in this invitation-only event. There was a great deal of interesting information shared among the participants and, as most can imagine, the primary topic of concern was the economy.

Dr. Donald Schunk
Dr. Schunk is a Research Economist at Coastal Carolina University and though he wanted to deliver a Good News/Bad News presentation on the state of the economy, the ultimate conclusion is that while technically he agrees the recession is over, realistically it is going to be another year and, perhaps two, before it feels like it is over for most people.

Here are a couple of interesting bullet points from this presentation:
** This is very likely to be a jobless recovery.
** The government stimulus probably kept us from a more severe recession or even depression but, as an economist, he is ambivalent on the governmental actions
** South Carolina has the second highest level of home ownership in the United States and he said, I believe, that West Virginia is first. The mobile home was one of the reasons given.
** His discussion on job creation was very interesting because it showed just how devastating the job losses have been in this current recession. That was important information for this audience because many of the non-profit organizations in the room depend on contributions from individuals for their life blood of funds.
** A portion of the good news of his presentation was that the Dow had gone over 10,000 but he tempered that good news with the caution that the market might not yet be in a steady upward climb. This was of importance to many in the audience, like the Foundations, whose finances have taken hits in the 23 to 33 percent range over the past couple of years and some upward movement of the Dow feels very good.

Will end this blog here to keep it readable and post more about the Round Table in subsequent notes.

Hartsville Interfaith Ministeries Food Bank Near Empty

2009-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

The following notice came from HARTSVILLE MATTERS an hour or two ago on October 13. The news is that the emergency food bank at the Hartsville Interfaith Ministry office is near empty:

Our Hartsville
Friends: We just received this information from faithful volunteer of HIM, Linda Yount: "I worked at HIM this morning and Linda Watford would like to tell you how barren the Food Bank is. The shelves are pretty empty. They really need everythi...ng......canned fruit, beans, soups, canned meats, etc. You could hardly go wrong if you take anything. Many thanks!!" Please
share this information with your family, friends, coworkers and church
members. Hartsville Interfaith Ministries is located off 4th Street:
210 Swift Creek Rd Hartsville, SC 29550 (843) 857-9003

Hartsville not yet on the list

2009-10-04T05:27:00.001-07:00

So, when you begin an initiative like Selling Hartsville, what would be one of your greatest wishes -- maybe to be listed among the ten coolest small towns (cities) in America? This morning, the lead story on the Yahoo web site is about those cities and towns and it seems that maybe reading about those who have earned that designation might even give some ideas for coming closer here in Hartsville. We certainly have many of the ingredients mentioned in some of the short write ups.

Last week, with some others from Hartsville, I had the opportunity to travel to Wilson, NC, to see some of the things they have going on in their city, home of a Coker College rival - Barton College. Wilson is significantly larger in population than Hartsville -- they are about 50,000 -- close to what we might be if you included what I like to call the retail trade zone. Wilson has a vitality that is obvious, challenges that are also obvious and a vision of service and excellence that seems to permeate the town. The major purpose for the trip was to see what they call "Project Greenlight." This program has the city of Wilson providing free WiFi throughout their downtown area while serving all of their citizens with the opportunity of purchasing cable television, internet and even phone services from the city. They are seeing income and they expect to very soon have enough customers for another dependable revenue stream for the city. We certainly know that we need some new revenue streams for our small city and this trip helped to provide a benchmarking opportunity. Wilson like Hartsville has been designated an All America City. They have received the designation several times and that is probably another target for which we should be aiming -- sooner rather than later == I hope.

One of the things that Wilson is most proud of and you can find these around their city -- Whirligigs -- they even have a festival for these metal-art creations.

The Past -- without there is no future

2009-09-30T04:42:00.001-07:00

This morning I was reading Rich Harwood's blog, which always has in-depth insights to community building coming from a personal perspective. He is writing about Yom Kippur, a time to look back and reflect on how you are doing in your individual quest.

Rich linked his thoughts about the individual's look back with a community looking back. He was talking about the importance of forgiving yourself and not wallowing in the misery of memory of things gone wrong and on being blinded by the notion that things were always better -- then. His message is an important one because it is to make choices and make judgments about the past and use those choices and judgments to move forward into the future.

When I think of community building from a neighborhood, from a city, from a company or a college, I know that if we all can learn from but then let go of our past, we can more efficiently and quickly build our future.

Major New York Clinton conference talks about communities

2009-09-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Eric Green a community psychologist has been at a global initiative conference in New York sponsored by the Clinton Foundation. He is blogging from this conference and his most recent blog is "getting to the HOW business." Apparently, even on a global basis, it is often much easier to describe the challenges and problems within communities than it is to come up with solutions that work. If you read his blog you will see how this is working among those who are looking for solutions to many of the world's tough problems. Making me think at the same time of work that Eve Puffer, a community psychologist, who works with the Duke Global Health Initiative has been doing in Kenya. She spent the summer implementing a research project to see if there is way to bring the strength of the social sciences to helping solve the HIV/Aids problem among young girls in one village. Getting to the How is a difficult challenge.

2009-09-08T13:38:00.001-07:00

I was just reading the daily summary from the CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY and came across a story of a many engaged in a friendly rivalry to see how much blood he can donate. We talk here about community building and it takes people contributing in all sorts of ways to build our communities. Here is an example of someone literally bleeding for the betterment of his neighbors. This really is sort of a fun story and should, I hope, make others think about doing their share in the fight for an adequate blood supply. Lots of surgery cannot happen without blood being on hand:

September 08, 2009
Long Island Man Moves Toward Blood-Donation Record

Every year since 1951, a Long Island man has donated blood — and today he’s scheduled to do it again, bringing his lifetime total donation to 40 gallons, reports Newsday.

Al Fischer, a 75-year-old printer in Massapequa, N.Y., has given 319 pints of blood. Mr. Fischer’s total puts him second in line behind the American who has given more blood, Maurice Wood, 83, a St. Louis retiree, according to the New York Blood Center. “He’s about six or seven pints ahead of me,” said Mr. Fischer, who adds that the pair are engaged in a friendly rivalry.

Mr. Fischer racked up his total by giving blood every eight weeks, notes Harvey Schaffler, executive director of Long Island Blood Services. “He’s a one-man army, who has helped almost a thousand people,” he says.

Small Town Events provide big city experience

2009-09-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Often I get accused of being a cheerleader for this great small town. It is an accusation I take as a praise. Hartsville is a small city but as I so often say, how many small Southern cities have thing to offer like you find here. Cases in point:

This past Sunday in Hartsville --

Triathlons sponsored and hosted by the Hartsville YMCA -- two at once so that both those who do them for real competition and those who do them for an experience can enjoy. Learn more on hartsvilletoday.com or at the Hartsville YMCA. Jana Longfellow, a REAL cheerleader for Hartsville has photos from the event.

Gospel in the Park on Sunday afternoon with lots of gospel groups. There are photos on Facebook from this event, which is another way for Hartsvillians and others to have a great time.

Coming up in Hartsville

Tuesday, September 8 -- Jack Riggs - novelist -- speaking and signing books with a free performance at 7 p.m. in Davidson Hall on the Coker College campus.

Piano Concert featuring Las Vegas Pianist David Osborne to benefit the Coker College Scholarship Fund and the Prestwood County Club Renovation Fund at the Watson Theater on the Coker College campus on Wednesday, September 16.

Hartsville Good Living Marketplace and Hartsville Idol on Saturday September 12 in downtown Hartsville.

College Soccer, Hartsville men on September 12 as they try to extend their undefeated streak against Mt. Olive College.

The Johnson Family Art Exhibition at Black Creek Arts Council, which also has a vareity of classes being scheduled throughout the Fall.

This is only a short list of the multiple events reaching multiple interests taking place in the city that likes to be billed as The Art of Good Living where you can always "Expect Pleasant Surprises."

Looking outward often key to growth

2009-09-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

This blog often talks about work being accomplished by THE HARWOOD INSTITUTE in formulating models and discussions of community building. One of the tools the Institute is now making available to community organizations is an ebook about how important it is to look outward toward your community rather than spending so much looking inward at your own organization. In these economic times many non-profit organizations spend significant time and resources looking at their own internal programs, systems and culture as a strategy for continuing to serve. There is a good chance that all this inward looking is causing many organizations to take their eyes off the mission of how to serve the mission, which is generally aimed toward making the major difference outside the organization. Rich Harwood studies this material and he has compiled it into a booklet with the funding of the Kettering Foundation. Those who are looking for strategies of how to maintain and even expand their organization in these tight financial times might be well served to download this report. This report was recently reviewed in Nigeria and that is part of a message distributed today by The Harwood Institute. Here is a section of that message:

"Org First " Around the Globe
REVIEW OF ORGANIZATION-FIRST APPROACH REPORT IN MAJOR NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER

Recently, the Nigerian Tribune - the nation's oldest newspaper - ran Folorunsho Moshood's review of The Organization-First Approach Report.

In the review, Moshood writes, "The book, which is an evidence-based research work that exposes the reader to why and how CSOs (civil society organizations) turn inward toward themselves instead of turning outward toward the communities they are meant to serve."

Moshood's review explores each of the chapters of the report and argues that leaders must be willing to face the truth of their actions.

Leasdership is a key to community building

2009-08-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

This summer I have run across a few books and articles on leadership that have been enlightening and there have been other phone conferences and blogs that have continued to underline LEADERSHIP as a crucial element to community building.

The first-year anniversary of the GoodLiving Marketplace will be celebrated in Hartsville in the next few weeks. Nancy Myers was looking for a way to make a difference and combined her thoughts with Judi Elvington, who is director of Hartsville Downtown Development, and the Saturday morning, monthly marketplace has been a great success. Nancy's leadership and an individual effort, motivated from her desire to make a difference and her willingness to take on the job. When you talk with her she will mention others who were instrumental but without her vision and willingness to take on the project it would still be, at best, a dream.

As this is written the people who have organized HARTSVILLEIDOL are doing auditions at Black Creek Arts Council. Believe this is the third week and the finalists from this afternoon will compete tonight for the chance to be among the finalists for the HartsvilleIdol designation. The word is the competition is stiff with lots of talent coming out to be part of this event. Again, individuals had an idea, they shared the idea and got the right push and this is another event making Hartsville a special place. Leadership is the crucial ingredient.

One of the authors I have read this summer is Ken Blanchard, who has made a career of leadership study and training. He has a book, written with Mark Miller, that he calls THE SECRET - WHAT GREAT LEADERS KNOW -- AND DO. A major element of that secret is summed up in the acronym - SERVE. If interested you will find it a quick nugget-filled read. SERVE stands for 'See the future;' 'Engage and Develop Others;' 'Reinvent Continuously;'Value Results and Relationships; 'Embody the Values.'

The leadership needed to help build community is most often of the "Servant Leadership" variety.

Know what to starve and what to feed

2009-08-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Current edition of NON PROFIT QUARTERLY contains an interesting article about leading in community building environments by a person named Bill Traynor, executive director of the Lawrence(MA) Community Works.

As I read this article I was struck by a core message of effectiveness and efficiency that discussed knowing how to feed those activities that help your organization and community move forward and starve those activities that gobble up your time, talent and treasure but leave you where you were when you started. Traynor is discussing techniques of what he called network leadership and the framing he uses for the discussion is a superior lesson on leadership in today's community building environments. I am hoping that I will be able to link to this article, "Vertigo" so that those interested will be able to gather the wisdom he is sharing. If not, you should get the current issue of NON-PROFIT QUARTERLY because the article is important for community builders.

As he ended the article, the author talked about the importance of having a supportive network who can congratulate you when you succeed and who can help you back on track when things go awry. "Increasingly we struggle together and are intentional about supporting one another—through forgiveness and truth telling—so that we can continue to build connected environments that feed the world by feeding the best of what it is to be human," is the way Traynor concludes the article.

It is worth the read!

Resources for Community Building Thinking

2009-07-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

The non-profit often gets overlooked when discussions of the economy, the future and the well-being of the communities of our country is discussed. No one should ignore this industry, which continues to be the "doing good" sector even as resources get more and more strapped in our current fiscal woes. One of the resources that many people in the non-profit world look too is the NON PROFIT QUARTERLY, a forum for very high level discussions of all facets of this non-profit field. Ruth McCambridge, editor, does a nice job of covering what is in the new issue. This issue has a story on one of the major questions facing both for profit and nonprofit, is bigger better? Here is what the editor says about this lead story:

Paul Light has suggested that there are four possible scenarios for the future of our sector -- one of these being an "arbitrary winnowing" which would "result in a rebalancing [of] the sector towards larger, richer and fewer [nonprofit] organizations." Dr. Light said nothing in his NPQ article about the private sector but I have noticed a disturbing macro trend worth paying attention to if you are at all interested in retaining a modicum of local ownership and control over the organizations that so richly populate our communities.

In yesterday's New York Times was an article about how small businesses are faring in this downturn. Here is a shocking statistic: from the second quarter of 2007 through the third quarter of 2008, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have accounted for 53% of all job losses in the private sector -- even though those companies employ only 20% of the employees.

One observer comments that this is just the market "being cleansed of unneeded goods and services." Though far from an economist, I might suggest that this phenomenon may be more a question of available capital and a function of a further monopolization of our markets by large business concerns. Slate.com runs a story about CIT Group, the number one lender to these very small firms under the Small Business Administration's 7(a) program. The 7(a) program typically makes loans to small businesses that have exhausted other options. Close to bankruptcy itself, it is under consideration for a bailout -- a step supported by Lloyd Chapman of the American Small Business League, who has traditionally opposed providing bailout funds for large financial institutions. "If my tax dollars are going to be used to rescue banks and other financial institutions," says Chapman, "CIT is the kind of firm I want to see saved." But Slate reports that the "thinking within the administration . . . is that because its collapse would have little or no effect on the larger financial system, bailing out CIT may not be worth the time or the money."

Chapman is concerned that small business is largely overlooked in the federal government's credit programs, pointing out that America's Recovery Capital Loan program (part of the ARRA) will make only $225 million in loans to small business, where CIT made more than three times that in 2008 alone.
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I worry that there is an insufficient understanding within this administration about the value of small, locally controlled organizations to civic life and I, for one object, as much on behalf of local owned business as locally controlled nonprofits. We are in danger of losing the essential character of the nation in this trend.

So when the administration proposes working hand in hand with large philanthropic institutions to craft collaborative approaches to "social innovation," and if that conversation remains less than fully transparent to date, excuse us if we wince a little at the more downside potential of that, particularly when the groups mentioned as models are very large, well connected and well funded.

If you are not familiar with this publication and you find the above relevant to some of your thinking in community building and non profits, you will find this publication a treasure trove of discussion over the long term.

Some quick observations of Hartsville in July

2009-07-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

1 -- Great exhibit of photographs of Hartsville or by Hartsville area photographers at the Black Creek Arts Council. And there is lots of activity with the kids art camp this week.

2 -- Really good to see some dilapidated houses disappearing in the Washington Street area. I have noticed three new empty lots and they have been a long time coming but sure are welcome. City is taking down some of those dangerous, falling-down buildings.

3 -- Good number of people appeared to be giving blood this afternoon (7/13) at the Presbyterian Church and it appears there is another bloodmobile at Heritage Bank tomorrow.

4 -- Even when the temperatures are not in the 90s it feels hot and steam in July yet even in the heat volunteers come out to help build Habitat for Humanity homes.

Coordinating Council is important for collaboration, communication, cooperation

2009-07-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

The Darlington County Coordinating Council is a loose organization of representatives from many of the social service type of agencies that serve the people of Darlington County. The Council meets monthly in Hartsville or Darlington. And, very importantly, the group has a web presence at darcocc.org.

Last week, July 9, the group had its meeting in Hartsville with about 17 people in attendance -- a relatively light crowd but some pretty heavy discussion. One of the key issues that arose was what appears to be an increasing incidence of teenage pregnancy in the Pee Dee. Kathy J. W. Smith of DHEC was doing the monthly organization presentation and she distributed some 2006 statistics on Teen Pregnancy. That handout started some intense discussion around the table and was one of the issues used as the reason for a need of more collaboration among agencies and service providers. The statistics on the page were provisional data for 2006 but they said that Darlington County has a 41.4 teen pregnancy rate, that is calculated per 1000 female population for the specific age group. For comparison, the overall South Carolina rate is 29.6.

SERVICES SUMMIT is September 10, 2009
One of the major announcements at this meeting was that the Services Summit for the county will be at Lakeview Baptist Church Fellowship Hall on September 10. This is an opportunity for service providers to get to know even more about each other's services and provide opportunities for people to meet one another to make coordination of service activities more realistic.

(Interest of full disclosure -- The Byerly Foundation has provided a multi-year grant for the Darlington County Coordinating Council to lay a solid foundation for improved communication among the various service providers. I am the executive director of The Foundation.)

REPRESENTATIVE JAY LUCAS TO COORDINATE
Representative Jay Lucas is going to be the Legislative Delegation's connection to the Coordinating Council. Many of the issues that arise from social service agencies are issues that are governed by state law and all of the issues affect people. In communities where a state legislative delegation takes an active interest in what is happening with social service providers it seems the social services are both more effective and more efficient. In fact, this group had a great deal of impetus a few years ago from State Senator Gerald Malloy, who gave one of the key notes at the first Summit.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Darlington County Coordinating Council is August 13, 2009 at the McLeod Medical Center - Resource Center in Darlington. Anyone wanting more information on this group can go to the web site, call Kathy Baxley, executive director of the Darlington County Free Medical Clinic, Dr. Nick Nicholson at the Darlington County Community Action Agency or Todd Shifflett at Care South.

Why do people work to make a difference?

2009-07-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

There have been studies done of what motivates people to become what The Harwood Institute calls public innovators. I am sure there are many organizations and colleges studying the motivations of volunteering and volunteerism. On the citizen journalism website called hartsvilletoday we have an interesting answer for ONE person on why she gives so much. I have provided the link but just in case you don't want to go there, here is a copy of what she said. It feels like there is a lot here that will be of interest to lots of people:

This is who I am
Submitted by NM on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 16:19. Arts, Entertainment, Reviews

My husband and I returned from church today and we finished our “Sunday Brunch”. But while I was eating I kept thinking of everyone’s comments about my energy, strength and drive for the Good Living Marketplace – and why is “she” driving herself so hard. Well, this is what I’ve decided. I would like to share my heart with you.

Do you have a friend, neighbor or acquaintance that needs help or just a smile? Do you offer your assistance? Do you bake a pie with your last ounce of flour and take it to your friend to make them feel better? When you see someone hurting do you reach out and give that person a hug? Do you say to people, if you need something or anything please call me and really mean it? Do you have friends that are suffering with some horrible disease and you wish that you could just reach in and pull that disease out and make them well again? Do you take a friend flowers or send a card just to say “Hi”?

You see, Hartsville is my friend and I want to do what I can to help her get through a very bad time. Hartsville is like so many other small towns in the United States - aching, throbbing, and hurting. But Hartsville is just not a name of a small town. It’s a small town overflowing with wonderful loving & caring people. Do you shun away, go somewhere else or do you bake that pie and stay in Hartsville. I’ve lived in several other states but I’m finally able to say that I’ve found “home”. So I’m baking those pies and staying in Hartsville “just because”.

I’ve saved the strongest statement for last. God gives me my energy and strength. We work very hard together and it is a beautiful relationship. God has given my family extra strength and energy during some very difficult years and I know He will continue. My drive for life and for the Good Living Marketplace comes from “doing” the questions in paragraph two.

Now you know what’s in my heart, and where I get my energy, strength and drive.

This is who I am.

I find it really cool that a person would share that personal motivation and I am hoping her personal motivations will also get more people to think about being involved.

People on the ground make the difference

2009-07-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I was reading a "Facebook" post by Mark Hanenchen, executive director of the Darlington County Habitat for Humanity. He was observing how thankful he is for people who give up weekends in the heat to help others by working on Habitat homes. He also noted how the ethos of a caring community is one of the major attractions for others to come to live and be part of that community. Hartsville does have a lot of people who care and who put their caring into action. Our goal has to be to get even more people who care involved to ensure we can solve the problems, or what we have called in the Selling Hartsville discussions, "fix the holes."

Butler Heritage is Community Heritage

2009-07-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

It was one of the largest crowds at a Butler Heritage Foundation dinner that graced the Thornwell Elementary cafeteria on Thursday evening.

This was a continuation of the week long Butler Heritage Foundation celebration that takes place the last days of June and first days of July every year. This is a celebration of the Butler High School impact on all who attended and the community of which the school was a major part. Butler was the all-Black high school in Hartsville until integration closed the doors back in the late 1970s. The Butler Heritage Foundation has a mission to keep those memories alive to remind everyone of the enormous contributions of the school to the life of Hartsville. There is a new community center under construction on the Butler campus and a secondary reason for the celebrations is to continue the important job of fund raising to make this project a reality for the community. The Byerly Foundation has contributed more than $350 for the reconstruction of the community center where the administration building used to be. Currently, the Boys and Girls Club is housed in the Gym wing of this school.

The Butler High Heritage Glee Club opened the dinner on Thursday night and that is the video that is part of this post.

Rufus Bess, an educator in Minnesota and graduate of Butler High, was the evening's keynote speaker. He spoke of the importance of recognizing and seizing opportunities and the foundation he was given at Butler that helped him to a nine-year National Football League career and so far 17 years of teaching students at the high school level.

The heritage that was on display in the faces of those in the audience is the foundation on which community is built. In a city like Hartsville, this type of heritage is one of our major strengths as it shows the SENSE OF PLACE of people for their home community. The sense of pride in Butler and in Hartsville was evidence in the remarks of all who spoke.

Hartsville United Way -- A community builder

2009-06-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

When it comes to building community, one of the interesting strategies is to find a way to get people within the community to commit physically to the improvement of the community -- voluntarily. The United Way provides this opportunity.

Today, the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce held an "All Member Breakfast" event at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center to hear from the T. C. Sawyer, executive director of the Hartsville United Way. The update on the role of the United Way in this community was timely. Mr. Sawyer told the group the national United Way is hoping that local United Ways will help focus communities on the major problems identified within the community. He told the group that in Hartsville the three major areas his Board has identified include Education, Health and jobs.

In the past we have known the United Way as a community chest of resources but the strategies of the United Way are evolving around the country as these groups identify themselves more as those organizations that can bring disparate groups from the community together to focus on solutions. The funds they provide come from contributions of people in the community who like the idea of having one organization looking at the community and determining where donor dollars can most effectively be spent.

Expect to be hearing more from the Hartsville United Way!