Community Project Connection

Published: 2022
By Roni Baker

In Fall 2021, with leadership from Yellowstone County MSU Extension Agents, including longtime 4-H/Youth Development Agent Roni Baker, the Worden/Ballantine Communities gathered for Reimagining Rural, an MSU Extension statewide virtual community gathering, to start the conversation to reimagine a bright future for rural towns. The program brings together people passionate about expanding local capacity and eager to learn, connect and lead change. After informational gathering sessions, the core group developed and distributed a community questionnaire to prioritize potential projects in Worden and Ballantine. The group now known as Community Project Connection selected leadership and began to work on main street revitalization, community connection through special events, local business development, and honoring the agricultural heritage of the area. Events included: • Spring Block party on the main street with the school band. • “Where’s Dinner?” which featured monthly food trucks and activities on the main street through the summer. • The Beef, Beets, and Barley Harvest Fest brought together community members for an event on the main street including a child educational area, vendors, food, beer, and a street dance. Plans in addition to continuing the ones from the past year are a community garden, paving Main Street, Christmas Stroll, a mural on Main Street, and a swimming pool. The Ballantine/Worden community members' new motto is, “We are the they! We need to make it happen.”