2010 Membership Drive Underway! The recent threat to the Clarinda Mental Health Institute of late is a sobering reminder of the continued value for a strong regional coalition. The rally by members and supporters for advocacy aid when alerted through the SWICO e-mail news list has been phenomenal!

Page County leadership is doing its job well coordinating salient talking points and getting leadership at the capitol to engage legislators. Its advocacy, however, has been incredibly expanded by SWICO's communication structure and member dedication.

Thank you for sending your messages in support of Clarinda. Thank you as well for using your professional and personal communication networks to forward messages calling for increased support.

And, thank you greatly to all of the members who support SWICO annually through membership dues

2010 Members To-Date:
Mark your calendars for activities and events during 2010! SCHEDULE

Denny Bloom
Dan Morgan
Alec Turner
Bedford Area Development Center
Camblin Mechanical, Inc.
Cass County Board of Supervisors
Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation
City of Red Oak
Farmers Mutual Telephone Co
Farmers Trust & Savings Bank
First National Bank - Fontanelle
First National Bank – Greenfield
First National Bank – Massena
First National Bank - Anita
Fremont Economic Development Corporation
Glenwood State Bank
Glenwood/Mills Co Chamber of Com and Ec Dev Found
Greenfield Chamber/Mainstreet & Development Corp.
Grow Iowa Foundation, Inc.
Grundman Insurance
Houghton State Bank
Iowa Area Development Group
Iowa State Savings Bank - Shenandoah
Iowa State Savings Bank - Creston
Iowa State Savings Bank - Lenox
Iowa Telecom
McGrath North Mullin & Kratz, PC LLO
McMahon Drug Store
Midwest Opportunities
Midwest Partnership Development Corporation
Mills County Farm Bureau
Montgomery Co Development Corp
Montgomery County Farm Bureau
Montgomery County Memorial Hosp
Page County Federal Savings Association
Page County State Bank
Red Oak Chamber and Industry Association
Red Oak Chrysler Dodge Jeep
Ringgold Co Development Corp
Ringgold County Board of Supervisors
Shelby County State Bank
Titan Machinery
Wallace Foundation for Rural Research & Development
Wash Haus, LLC
Western Iowa Tourism

Board Meeting/Retreat Update: The board met for its annual year-end retreat in November and would like to share the following notes to members and supporters.

• The membership survey revealed a desire by many for a couple of day meetings/events that would provide larger group opportunities for networking and gathering of information. 2010 will have two SWICO Summits; one in June and one in September. A committee will be formed to plan the event using, in part, survey data. So mark your calendars now. There will also be 4 working membership meetings hosted throughout the region. The board will meet monthly in Red Oak. Members are encouraged to attend these board meetings and actively participate in planning. Time for open discussion will be on each agenda, and a member can request additional time for an item of discussion by contacting the office.
• The projected budget for 2010 to cover regular, annual activities and financial obligations was projected at $19,000. Membership dues income trend between $16 - $17,500. Additional income from the golf tournament has helped in past years offset the gap. Members are encouraged to approach local businesses, local governments and economic development leadership about joining.
• The board encourages members to invite guests to attend meetings. We will be drawing from the names of guests at each meeting for a FREE one year trial membership. Only non-members will be included in the drawing.
• The slate of 2010 board members was approved by the board and will be presented at the annual meeting for membership approval. Martin Olive, from Adams County, has agreed to serve if approved by the membership.
• Reports on the regional, collaborative projects were submitted. The Rural Development Center is showing steady and healthy progress. Organizational functionality and service delivery mechanisms have been an emphasis for the Advisory Committee. The Committee is now advising strategic planning sessions with members to begin a focus for the Center on product development beginning with value-added ag products. Buy Iowa Online doubled its seller base and had a successful holiday shopping season.
• Thank you to all the members who responded to the 2009 survey. You can browse through the results here SURVEY

 

Legislative Committee: Sitting Board Members: Steve Adams, Joe Blankenship, Twila Larson, Dale McAllister, Gwen Trullinger

Infrstructure Committee: Sitting Board Members: Keith Harlan, Clarence Mosier, Curt Shaha & Linda Washburn

Business & Industry Committee: Sitting Board Members: Bill Henderson, Russell Joyce, George Maher & Ken Pangburn

Regional Development Committee: Sitting Board Members: Kenner Baxter, Margaret Gregory, Ruth Smith & Adam Snodgrass

Thank you to all the players, sponsors and contributors who made our
4th Annual Golf Tournament a success!

The 2009 tournament winners who now will house the coveted traveling trophy is the McGrath North Mullin & Kratz team our newest Nebraska member. The team decided that scratching the statues head prior to heading to court might give them a little edge in that venue as well. Congratulations! Read More

Proceeds from the tournament are used to continue the Coalitions rural economic development advocacy work throughout its 16-county membership region.

The players: Jim Jansen, Kris Covi, Patrick Pepper and Rod Kestel

The 5th Annual Tournament is now being scheduled for 2010. Interested golfers throughout southwest Iowa can contact the Coalition office to ensure that details for registration are sent to them.