Letter
from the Executive Director
For
the past thirteen years I have had the privilege of working with the members,
committees, staff, advisory boards and our board of directors to implement
the Strategy for Rural Renewal. We have grown from a small staff with a very
modest budget that was housed in a small, attic office in Athens to an organization
with six offices, over 20 paid staff and consultants, and a robust cadre of
VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America), and an increasing membership and
donor base.
Among all the funders, private and public, that have supported our work, The
Corporation for National and Community Service has been the source of our strongest
sustained support, placing numerous VISTAs with our programs every year since
1994.
VISTAs
have made it possible for Rural Action to apply the Strategy for Rural Renewal
by their ground breaking work as coordinators and field workers
with farmers, civic and economic entrepreneurs, school children, artisans
and artists, community leaders and those aspiring to leadership, citizens
working
to clean up their streams and those working on sustainable forest practices.
It
was their work that laid the foundation that led us to apply an Asset-based
Community Development (ABCD) approach to building development alternatives
for Appalachia Ohio. One of our greatest successes has been learning that
Rural Action's VISTAs continue to strengthen civil society, wherever they
happen
to live.
The commitment and energy of the Rural Action family continue to amaze
me. I have often described Rural Action as "a cauldron of creativity." In
fact, part of my job has been to channel the prolific idea generation of our
members and staff into projects that are manageable. We really are an incubator
without walls.
In the coming years, I look forward to the continued maturity of Rural
Action's work, especially as we venture into policy development that is
so crucial
to the economic issues facing rural Appalachia.
The time has come for me to retire and to pursue a more limited, relaxed
and focused use of my time. I plan to resume my fiber artwork, to devote
some energy
to working with the National Service Leadership Institute, and to continue
to help Rural Action find donors who will support our goal of building
an endowment. Above all, spending time with my family and friends, which
include
many of
you, will be a top priority.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with all of you on the renewal of our
beloved region.
Carol M. Kuhre
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