Wendy Bulloch will pose a question that is vexing leaders in hundreds of towns and villages across Western Canada – what do you do when everybody says no?
Bulloch, the Literacy Partners of Manitoba executive director, will explore answers during her presentation at Ag Days held at the Keystone Centre Jan. 18 to 20.
She wants to know how rural service clubs, agricultural societies and communities survive with fewer volunteers.
Bulloch, who founded a consultancy called Building Up in Brandon that provides leadership development, strategic planning and community building services, suggested communities explore their volunteer needs.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“What’s the end (result) that you want in your community?”
She said rural leaders will have to collaborate in the town as the rural population continues to shrink.
“(Don’t) lose the history or identity of your community but is there a way that you can stretch out and partner with someone close by in another community to achieve the overall (goal)?”
Carolyn Pletsch, program co-ordinator of Rural Women Making Change, said if rural organizations fail to reach outside of their communities, the long-term prospects for each of those communities are diminished.
“They don’t know the value of what they’re not doing,” she said. “That’s the key point about networking…. You can only move forward with other people. And if you’re stuck in the hole without outside contact, you can’t see the positives.”
