The West Douglas County
Record
Record
Evansville meeting highlights progress of Horizons program
The City of Evansville has been a part of the University of Minnesota Extension’s Horizons program since November
2008.
Horizons is programming for leadership development and poverty reduction over 18 months.
Several meetings of the people involved have taken place since the city entered the program.
When it comes to creating a thriving community, community members themselves are the key to success. The
Horizons program taps the ability of communities to create hope and economic prosperity.
Horizons is an 18-month program of leadership education, community discussion, visioning and action for rural
communities.
The latest meeting took place Jan. 14 at the Pit Stop Bar and Lounge with over a dozen people attending.
Progress which has been made was highlighted at the meeting with several people giving presentations on what
they have been working on for the project.
One of the areas being worked on is entitled “Our Youth - Our Future”.
Penny Ostendorf and Julie Fenlason spoke at the meeting on what they have been doing to get things going for
young people.
They mentioned there have been several “Youth Nights” in Evansville with students in grades 7-12 from the
Brandon, Evansville and Ashby schools invited with some students from West Central Area also attending.
There have been five such nights with a high of 60 students attending one of them.
“There have been lots of activities such as open gym, movies and Karaoke,” said Ostendorf of the Youth Nights.
The evenings have also included food and drink and the feed back has been positive from those attending, it was
reported.
Having a monthly event for students in grades K-6 is being looked at for the future.
A monthly Early Childhood Family Education night has also been taking place with good participation.
Colleen Shores spoke to the group on the rejuvenated Welcome Wagon for newcomers to the area.
She said the Welcome Wagon lets people know what services are in the community and the visit usually takes half
an hour.
The question was asked if there was a follow up to the initial visit and the answer was “no”.
Shores said a follow up visit would be a good idea and will be looked into as a part of the service.
The program is funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. Participating communities have populations of less than
5,000 and poverty rates greater than 10 percent. The program mobilizes community members to learn more about
poverty, to support and uncover emerging leadership and to engage the entire community in establishing a future
that addresses poverty and creates a new future. Communities that complete the 18-month process receive up to
$10,000 to carry out their ideas for action. Part of the meeting was a review of what has taken place so far in the
process.
The community visioning process was a time to gather ideas, analyze the broader community and adopt a shared
vision and poverty reduction plan.
This was followed by the actual visioning portion of Horizons. The conclusions of this part of the process included
people in Evansville take pride in their community; there are local business and employment opportunities, there
are community services offered and Evansville is a great place to raise a family.
During the study circles during the first phase of Horizons 86 percent of those who attended came away with an
increased knowledge of poverty and 57 percent said they were likely to join in future planning for the city.
As part of Horizons participants can attend LeadershipPlenty® which is a leadership development program. The
theory behind LeadershipPlenty® is that broad-based community leadership is critical for long-term positive
community change. The goal is to make civic leadership training available to those who may not consider
themselves leaders but have much to offer their communities and to strengthen the skills of those who hold
leadership positions. The program includes 30-40 hours of training.
There were 23 participants form Evansville in the LeadershipPlenty® program. Of those attending, 84 percent said
they would like to see more people involved and an equal number said they would like to have a greater awareness
of Evansville’s strength as a community.
There are several reasons why Horizons is important and needed. They include:
• Nearly one-third of Minnesotans worry most of the time that their family’s income will not be enough to meet
expenses. More than two-thirds say they worry the economy will get worse.
• Minnesotans want to help. Despite their own financial worries, 87 percent of Minnesotans report they would like to
do more to help those who struggle to make ends meet.
• People have a better understanding of the causes of poverty after the Horizons program. (83 percent)
• More people are talking about poverty. (65.1 percent)
• There are different kinds of people participating in community leadership roles. (82.9 percent)
• More people are participating in leadership roles. (66.7 percent)
• People are contributing in new or expanded ways. (77.7 percent)
The Horizons program rallies this untapped energy and helps concerned community members lead and created a
new vision. Horizons makes a difference for communities.
Also discussed at the meeting was the Evansville Booster.
Penny Ostendorf and Julie Fenlason addressed the crowd at the Evansville Horizons meeting held Jan. 14.
The City of Evansville has been a part of the University of Minnesota Extension’s Horizons program since November
2008.
Horizons is programming for leadership development and poverty reduction over 18 months.
Several meetings of the people involved have taken place since the city entered the program.
When it comes to creating a thriving community, community members themselves are the key to success. The
Horizons program taps the ability of communities to create hope and economic prosperity.
Horizons is an 18-month program of leadership education, community discussion, visioning and action for rural
communities.
The latest meeting took place Jan. 14 at the Pit Stop Bar and Lounge with over a dozen people attending.
Progress which has been made was highlighted at the meeting with several people giving presentations on what
they have been working on for the project.
One of the areas being worked on is entitled “Our Youth - Our Future”.
Penny Ostendorf and Julie Fenlason spoke at the meeting on what they have been doing to get things going for
young people.
They mentioned there have been several “Youth Nights” in Evansville with students in grades 7-12 from the
Brandon, Evansville and Ashby schools invited with some students from West Central Area also attending.
There have been five such nights with a high of 60 students attending one of them.
“There have been lots of activities such as open gym, movies and Karaoke,” said Ostendorf of the Youth Nights.
The evenings have also included food and drink and the feed back has been positive from those attending, it was
reported.
Having a monthly event for students in grades K-6 is being looked at for the future.
A monthly Early Childhood Family Education night has also been taking place with good participation.
Colleen Shores spoke to the group on the rejuvenated Welcome Wagon for newcomers to the area.
She said the Welcome Wagon lets people know what services are in the community and the visit usually takes half
an hour.
The question was asked if there was a follow up to the initial visit and the answer was “no”.
Shores said a follow up visit would be a good idea and will be looked into as a part of the service.
The program is funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. Participating communities have populations of less than
5,000 and poverty rates greater than 10 percent. The program mobilizes community members to learn more about
poverty, to support and uncover emerging leadership and to engage the entire community in establishing a future
that addresses poverty and creates a new future. Communities that complete the 18-month process receive up to
$10,000 to carry out their ideas for action. Part of the meeting was a review of what has taken place so far in the
process.
The community visioning process was a time to gather ideas, analyze the broader community and adopt a shared
vision and poverty reduction plan.
This was followed by the actual visioning portion of Horizons. The conclusions of this part of the process included
people in Evansville take pride in their community; there are local business and employment opportunities, there
are community services offered and Evansville is a great place to raise a family.
During the study circles during the first phase of Horizons 86 percent of those who attended came away with an
increased knowledge of poverty and 57 percent said they were likely to join in future planning for the city.
As part of Horizons participants can attend LeadershipPlenty® which is a leadership development program. The
theory behind LeadershipPlenty® is that broad-based community leadership is critical for long-term positive
community change. The goal is to make civic leadership training available to those who may not consider
themselves leaders but have much to offer their communities and to strengthen the skills of those who hold
leadership positions. The program includes 30-40 hours of training.
There were 23 participants form Evansville in the LeadershipPlenty® program. Of those attending, 84 percent said
they would like to see more people involved and an equal number said they would like to have a greater awareness
of Evansville’s strength as a community.
There are several reasons why Horizons is important and needed. They include:
• Nearly one-third of Minnesotans worry most of the time that their family’s income will not be enough to meet
expenses. More than two-thirds say they worry the economy will get worse.
• Minnesotans want to help. Despite their own financial worries, 87 percent of Minnesotans report they would like to
do more to help those who struggle to make ends meet.
• People have a better understanding of the causes of poverty after the Horizons program. (83 percent)
• More people are talking about poverty. (65.1 percent)
• There are different kinds of people participating in community leadership roles. (82.9 percent)
• More people are participating in leadership roles. (66.7 percent)
• People are contributing in new or expanded ways. (77.7 percent)
The Horizons program rallies this untapped energy and helps concerned community members lead and created a
new vision. Horizons makes a difference for communities.
Also discussed at the meeting was the Evansville Booster.
Penny Ostendorf and Julie Fenlason addressed the crowd at the Evansville Horizons meeting held Jan. 14.
