Event News
Local host committee honors Minnesota rural champions
July 2, 2011
The Minnesota host committee of the 2011 Gathering of the National Rural Assembly honored "rural champions" at the evening program on Wednesday, June 29.
Rural champion awards were given to nine state leaders who have worked on behalf of rural people and their issues.
Recipients were:
- Jane Freeman
- Bob Bergland
- Anne Kanten
- Al Quie
- Rod Leonard
- Cy Carpenter
- Lou Ann Kling
- Jim Nichols
- Sr. Mary Mark Tacheny
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie addressed the Assembly after the presentations, calling on participants to use their love of place to inspire them to act on behalf of rural communities.
"Either I am a nobody or I'm a nation" - Dee Davis' Closing Speech
July 1, 2011
Dee Davis Gives Closing Speech at the 2011 Rural Assembly Gathering from Center for Rural Strategies on Vimeo.
"As we move forward, we’ve got to think about how this story turns out. We need to engage with each other and find that purpose – find that purpose and keep going. We’re going to have to find a way to help each other through this [and] create the purpose in ourselves to move this thing forward."
A National Rural Community
June 30, 2011Written by Janney Lockman, Greenbank, WV
While the introduction I've been giving to people I meet at the National Rural Assembly has usually consisted of my name, where I'm from, and a blurb about the work I do, it might as well be "Hi, my name is Janney, and this is my first conference." As a 21 year-old at my first major business function in the world of grown-ups, it's easy for me to be intimidated by the world of panels, business cards, and conference tote bags, and forget that we're all gathered for the same reason. We all care about rural America, and want the rural communities that we live in, represent, and are advocates for to be healthy, inclusive, and have a voice in our country's future.
