I. Project Background:
Sebascott Economic Development Council (SEDC) originated from a meeting in September, 1993, called by W.D. Looper of Huntington. Looper's intent was to bring communities together to plan for area growth and development. Over the next several years, SEDC held a monthly pot luck and pursued a variety of initiatives, including promotion of the I-49 Highway project, restoration of a historic cabin, rural water extension, and the "Spring Up" beautification project. Moreover, Sebascott invited speakers representing a range of agencies and organizations to make presentations at its monthly pot luck.
In March, 1996, Sebascott invited Dr. David Glasser of the University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC) in Fayetteville to make a presentation. Funded through the School of Architecture by Bernice Jones, the UACDC provides initial planning and design services aimed at the preservation and enrichment of small Arkansas towns. Glasser invited Rebecca Bryant, a planning consultant with whom the Center had previously collaborated, to the presentation in Mansfield. After Glasser's presentation, a discussion ensued. In response to a question from Bryant, half of the people at the meeting stated that their primary concern was the growth that had spilled over from Fort Smith and overtaken Greenwood. Another half stated their primary concern was jobs. At the conclusion of the meeting, Sebascott passed a motion requesting further assistance from the UACDC.
In April, after reviewing and assessing of all Sebascott's previous minutes and reports, Bryant wrote:
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"While we recognize opportunities for partnership in rural planning and design, community development, and economic development, we believe it would be ill-conceived to proceed in that direction without first building a fin 1l foundation. To sharpen Sebascott's focus and its efficiency as an organization, we suggest a slow, methodical process of coming into political alignment through strategic planning. In so doing, you will create a unity of purpose, build organization capacity, create a consistent program, and identify discrete activities to be undertaken on a timeline. Our recommendation is that Sebascott engage in a strenuous strategic planning exercise with broad-based public involvement, building on the pieces you have already undertaken."
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From the onset, three individuals-W.D. Looper, Connie McConnell, and Marion Mathis-undertook most of the organizing on behalf of SEDC. The UACDC, with Ms. Bryant as principal, responded to Sebascott's invitation to submit a proposal. At their June meeting, members of Sebascott voted to accept the proposal. Sebascott then initiated a successful fundraising effort. In August of '96, at an organizational meeting at Mansfield, Sebascott formally launched the strategic planning project.
II. Project Description:
The project design entailed an organizational meeting, four half-day public workshops, and one full-day strategic planning workshop over a period of seven months. Structurally, the idea was for Sebascott to set up an Area Planning Committee (APC), demographically representative of the area, to promote the project and generate excitement and interest. The APC would review and assimilate information generated from the public meetings, then make decisions on behalf of the larger community. A subset of the APC, an Executive Committee (EC) was established to handle meeting logistics and serve as a liaison with the UACDC. With Bryant acting as principal, the UACDC's role was to design the process, facilitate meetings, provide technical assistance, and produce a strategic plan. Additionally, Bryant produced a newsletter that went to members of the APC between each workshop and regular press releases for area media.
In an early assessment of Sebascott's role, Bryant suggested that Sebascott might take one of two approaches. First, it could support individual projects of individual communities much as it had over the past several years. This approach could place communities in competition for Sebascott's limited resources. Second, Sebascott could pull the communities together and create a unified vision for the area, fostering cooperation instead. Sebascott chose to focus on an area vision and area cooperation.
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