Press release
Everyone has a story, and when we truly understand that story, sometimes solutions form, that weren’t otherwise obvious. The Crawford Partnership for Education and Economic Development— a non-profit organization that serves Crawford County through Economic and Community Development—knows that it takes this kind of understanding to influence positive change. This year’s State of the Vision, April 18 at Pickwick Place, will share this important message with the community.
“Our job is to implement the goals and strategies our community developed in 2010 (Crawford: 20/20 Vision) to make Crawford County a better place to live, work and raise our families,” said Erin Stine, the Partnership’s Community Development Director. “One of the best ways for our volunteers and leaders to get things accomplished, is by working together– that is a lot easier to do, when we understand each other.”
The Annual State of the Vision event updates investors, community members and volunteers on the status of the work being done from the Crawford: 20/20 Vision Plan, but it also is a time to pause and reflect, celebrate the past year’s accomplishments, and look ahead to what the next year has in store.
“Crawford County is a small-town community, and we are proud of what that really means,” Stine said. “We all want what’s best—from the smallest business to the largest, from the non-profit organization, to the most profitable.”
The timing of such a message is just right, Stine added. The Partnership has spent the last year evaluating (as the plan suggested, in order to ensure relevancy) the work that has been done, the work that is left to do, and what new opportunities lie ahead to move the community forward. “We have ambitious plans for change,” she said. “We’ve come a long way in just seven years, but we still have a long way to go. This year’s State of the Vision will be a chance for us to look ahead, but also to look inward, and find what each of us has, that can add to the overall Vision of our community’s success.”
Keynote speaker at the April 18 State of the Vision will be Muriel Summers, founder of The Leader in Me (TLIM)—a program that the Partnership, along with county schools and local businesses (through Ohio’s Department of Education’s Community Connectors Grant and local match funds) believes will build stronger leaders and a stronger, more capable workforce.
The Leader in Me program has found success nationwide in transforming the culture of schools because it teaches the students and staff a common language—the 7 Habits: Be Proactive; Begin with the End in Mind; Put First Things First; Think Win-Win; Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood; Synergize; and Sharpen the Saw. Not only are schools that use The Leader in Me program transformed by higher achievement, they also benefit from less discipline issues (http://www.theleaderinme.org/).
Summers is no stranger to Crawford County. She was here in August, training Wynford Elementary faculty and staff for this school year’s TLIM program.
“One of the highlights of my 37+years in education was having the opportunity to not only observe and participate in Muriel’s training sessions, but to get to know her on a personal level,” said Steve Mohr, former Wynford Superintendent, and current coordinator of Crawford County’s Leader in Me programs through the Community Connectors’ Grant. “Her passion and enthusiasm for bettering the lives of children and, the communities they live in, is inspirational. She adds value to everyone she meets, and Crawford County is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity at the State of the Vision to hear Muriel share that passion and enthusiasm.”
Based on Habit 5, Seek First to Understand, Summers’ message during April 18’s State of the Vision is especially timely for the Crawford County community. “Sharing our stories is where synergy and greatness happen,” said Summers. “We all have a story to tell, and I have seen that sense of understanding lead to amazing things in communities just like Crawford County.”
Summers’ story is one that puts each child’s potential ahead of everything else. She has served her community as an educator and administrator for over 30 years. The principal of A. B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, N.C., Summers and her staff created the first leadership elementary school in the nation to use Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as its foundation. Summers also serves as a consultant and trainer for educators around the country as part of the FranklinCovey Speakers Bureau.
Tickets for the Partnership’s Annual State of the Vision, April 18 at Pickwick Place in Bucyrus, can be purchased online at www.crawford2020.com. Doors open at 5 p.m. with hors oeuvres, dinner—provided by Avita Health Systems– and program will follow, starting at 6 p.m. General admission is $60, or $100 for two. Partnership investors receive discounts; more information is available online.