Month: June 2015

How Small Towns and Cities Can Use Local Assets to Rebuild Their Economies – Report from the EPA

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Lessons From Successful Places

Over time, all communities experience changes that affect the industries, technologies, and land use patterns that help form the foundation of their local economies. Economically resilient towns, cities, and regions adapt to changing conditions and even reinvent their economic bases if necessary. Even if the community has lost its original or main economic driver, it has other assets that it can use to spur the local economy. While most economic development strategies involve some effort to recruit major employers, such as manufacturers or large retailers, many successful small towns and cities complement recruitment by emphasizing their existing assets and distinctive resources. Read this report from the EPA

Wednesday, June 24- Webinar Adaptations of the First impressions Program: Tourism Destinations and Small Communities

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CTFirstImpressionsNewHeader

Adaptations of the First impressions Program: Tourism Destinations and Small Communities

Wednesday, June 24

Webinar – 10:00 – 11:30 am/Eastern

Presenters:  

Doug Arbogast, Extension Specialist, Tourism, West Virginia University Extension Service 

Laura Brown, Community & Economic Development Educator, University of Connecticut Extension 

Robin Frost, Program Coordinator, Community Resources & Economic Development, West Virginia University Extension Service

Cynthia Messer, Extension Professor, University of Minnesota Extension

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Use the following link to join the webinar:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/825905701

Audio connection:

+1 (646) 749-3122

Access Code: 825-905-701

The original First Impressions program, developed in the 1990s by Andrew Lewis, University of Wisconsin, Cooperative Extension, and James Schneider, has undergone a variety of changes according to audience, place, and purpose. Each location has its own needs, challenges, population, and unique characteristics that should be encompassed in a meaningful assessment.  In this webinar, presenters will share some of the innovative adaptations that have been developed  to ensure program participants receive a valuable, relevant assessment of their small communities, neighborhoods, tourism destinations, or tourism facilities.  Updates made to the manual to assess web presence, social media use, and other modern technologies will also be discussed.