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Growing Greenup: 1-28-25

Growing Greenup

Anne Stephens

The Ashland Beacon

 


Over the past fifteen years, my job has grown and changed in many ways. I am proud to have celebrated my fifteenth anniversary as an employee of the University of Kentucky in September 2024. As I work to start 2025 on a positive note, I have been reviewing the information that defines my job to be sure that I am working in the right direction.

Every Extension Agent has an Advisory Council. This is a volunteer group of individuals with an interest in the program area, skills and knowledge that they are willing to share with others, an open mind AND mindset of life-long learning, and a passion for community engagement.

If you read this and feel like community arts in and around Greenup County is something that interests you, mark your calendar for Thursday, January 31, 7:00PM at the Greenup County Extension Office, 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144. This will be the first meeting of the year that includes arts and community development people. This group only meets twice a year – the next meeting will be in July. Any interested party is welcome to attend!

Why is the Community Arts Program tied to Community and Economic Development inside UK Cooperative Extension? Please continue reading current information shared from https://cedik.ca.uky.edu/and reach out to me with any questions.     

Kentucky Community Arts Extension develops and promotes support for arts education and development in Kentucky counties, coordinated in partnership with University of Kentucky College of Fine ArtsCooperative Extension and other local, state, and national arts organizations. 

Community Arts program resources are delivered through County Extension Professionals embedded in 8 Kentucky counties and at the State level. This programming serves diverse needs of Kentucky residents and is quick to adapt to the interests of local populations by creatively engaging communities through art activities, events, public art and performances and more. Community Arts also offers training opportunities for Extension professionals, community leaders, and volunteers.

Community & Economic Development Defined

Community Development is a term that can refer to comprehensive strategies or small projects. Because the use of the term community development is used in such a wide range of situations, the idea of community development can be misunderstood. In a similar way, Economic Development is a subject that can be misunderstood and one that people know very little about.

What is Community Development?

From a community perspective, community development includes nearly every type of purposeful community change. Creating purposeful change (development) of aspects of economy, health, physical infrastructure, governance, social needs, or other aspects of living addressed at a collective (community) scale- are expressions of community development. 

Why do communities do Community Development?

Investments in community development are often intended to improve the quality of life for residents. Efforts to guide community development frequently start by assessing areas of needed change, or by identifying a preferred status the community would like to achieve. Results of Community Development can include:

  • A sense of pride and ownership in/for the community

  • A healthier environment

  • An engaged citizenry working in the interest of all the community

  • Improved services for community residents

  • Increased education opportunities

  • Increased employment or wealth accumulation opportunities

  • Overall improved quality of life

What is Economic Development?

Economic Development usually takes three forms in communities:

  1. Business Attraction

  2. Business Creation (Entrepreneurial Development)

  3. Business Retention and Expansion

All three forms of economic development aim to create new primary jobs that pay more than the prevailing wage, increase the amount of income coming into the community from outside its market area, and create greater capital investment in the community. The strategy is to achieve this in a number of diversified industries.

Why do communities do Economic Development?

Economic development has three main purposes:

  • To give a greater number of people greater access to wealth through personal economic growth.

  • To increase the tax base of communities in order to provide higher quality public services to citizens.

  • To diversify the economic base and thereby cushion the community against economic shocks.

Who is Involved in Community & Economic Development Locally?

Community scale changes benefit from representation from the community scale systems. Do you know which people in your community have roles to play in community & economic development (CED)? It is important to understand that CED is a shared effort among several stakeholders, and Extension can play a vital role. Here are just a few who may be in your community:

  • Local government

  • Civic groups

  • Local business or Chamber of Commerce

  • Economic development/banking or foundations   

  • Religious institutions

  • Education systems (from primary and secondary to university/formal and informal)

  • Health (can include public/private)

  • Recreation

Development initiatives that impact everyone in a community are supported more broadly and more sustainably when the members of the community are represented and engaged in the process. While it is nearly impossible to have every person involved in every decision, it is generally true that people like to be involved in decisions that impact them. Thus, development initiatives should utilize processes that promote broad participation and strive for justice, equity, and sustainability.

For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144 The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.  University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky counties cooperating.

 

 

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ABOUT US

 

The Ashland Beacon’s owners, Philip and Lora Stewart, Kimberly Smith, and Jason Smith, established The Greater Ashland Beacon in 2011 and over the years the Beacon has grown into what you see now… a feel-good, weekly newspaper that brings high quality news about local events, youth sports, and inspiring people that are important to you. The Greater Ashland Beacon prides itself in maintaining a close relationship with the community and love nothing more than to see businesses, youth, and civic organizations in the surrounding areas of Boyd and Greenup counties thrive. 

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