Reimagining Rural, September 10th, 2019

Published: 2019
By Katie Hatlelid

All across the state of Montana, there are rural communities that have experienced declining population trends, young people that have gone off to college and never came back. A group of MSU Extension Agents had noticed the increasing number of efforts by organizations that served these rural areas, to revitalize or try and rebuild the communities. It became apparent that many of these organizations did not always know of each other, or their efforts to reach rural Montana. After many planning and brainstorming sessions, the plan was made to partner with the Montana Community Foundation and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and host an event in September. The Reimagining Rural Gathering was a discussion among organizational leaders across industries or disciplines with a stake in rural vitality. The goal of the conference was to talk about creating a vibrant future for rural communities through leadership development. The conference was presented in partnership with the Montana Community Foundation and the Governor’s Office. Over 100 people attended the day-long conference, which hosted keynote speaker Ben Winchester, from University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality. There were several small group round-table discussion portions of the day as well. Participants of the day learned about “brain gain”, and changing their own personal narrative about rural communities. Many times the narrative is a negative one, focusing on what has been “lost”, or what isn’t the “same” as it used to be. By focusing on the positive attributes of the town and area around it, people that may have moved in, or are interested in these areas are met with a more inviting tone. Many of the attendees of the day, when surveyed, said they would change their own personal narrative to be more positive when referring to these rural areas.