RSS Feed
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Helping rural Alabama
I had a unique perspective from a seat in the auditorium of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries in Montgomery with 99 others from around the state last Thursday for the inaugural meeting of "Rural Alabama's Committee of 100," a group formed by Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks to help champion Alabama's rural areas. The committee is an outgrowth of the newly created Center for Rural Alabama. Longtime economic developer Larry Lee is director of the center, housed within the Department of Agriculture and Industries. Some say this group is the Democratic answer to the Alabama Rural Action Commission created by Republican Gov. Bob Riley and headed by Riley ally and former State Sen. Gerald Dial. Commissioner Sparks was quick to say that this group isn't a Democratic committee or a Republican committee but one made up of Alabamians from across the state to work on rural problems. Personally, I don't care how many committees or commissions we have working on rural problems as long as something constructive is being done. Larry Lee and Mac Holladay, a longtime economic development consultant who has worked across the country, detailed facts and statistics that highlighted the problems. In a nut shell, urban areas have more population, higher incomes and higher education levels, better lifestyles and cultural amenities. The rural areas have less population, more poverty, lower education levels and fewer amenities. Because rural areas have less (of what's good anyway), they have fewer resources to combat the problems they face. For instance, there are 264 incorporated municipalities not counting what is considered metro cities. The average population is 1,444 (about the size of Grove Hill, by the way). You don't have enough people to work on the problems, first off. Then, out of all of the sales taxes collected in the state, only about 12 percent comes from rural Alabama. That illustrates not only part of the money problem but real lopsidedness of the rural and urban split too. Lee told the group that rural Alabama can't depend on the federal or state governments. "There's not a Santa Claus in Washington and there's not one in Montgomery. If Santa Claus is going to come to your town, somebody had better find them a red and white suit." Despite the apparent bleakness, Lee pointed out bright spots, rural places where people are making a difference in education, economic development and community life. He described Fulton as "home to Scotch Lumber Company and not much else" but credited Mayor Mike Norris for working hard to secure a muchneeded sewer system for a lot of the town. Commissioner Sparks recognized Mike's accomplishments later that evening at the Community Foundation meeting in Fulton. Holladay detailed how much the world has changed in terms of economic development. Technology and telecommunications have aided the "death of distance" and made for a true global economy. He described a West Virginia businessman, clad in overalls and working from an "office last decorated in 1953," doing a multimillion business with China. Holladay asked him if he had ever been to China and the man said no as he patted his laptop computer and explained, "But I talk to them [the Chinese] every day." Globalization has hastened the need to work from a regional level to improve the economy. County and municipality boundaries have little to do with the economy, he stressed. Workforce development- the education of people- is the most important thing that regions and communities must work to improve. "If you do everything else right and not this, your goose is cooked," Holladay said. The days of having the cheapest land and the cheapest labor force are gone, he said, adding, "You are not going to out cheap China." Today it is about quality- quality labor, quality of life and more. Here are his tips that caught my ear: Successful communities will put aside their differences for the common good and develop a shared vision for the future. They will be proactive and action oriented with a clear strategy for development. They will have a diverse and participating community leadership with a civic capacity and institutional structure necessary to implement this strategy. Economic success isn't measured just by the number of new industries and businesses secured but by increases in per capita income, a reduction in teen pregnancies and unemployment, more high school and college degrees and other positive accomplishments. I felt good because I realized that Clarke County is working on the very things Holladay says are important. We may not be doing them all and we may not be doing them as well as we should, but we are working from a regional perspective, both within the county and with adjoining counties. We realize that quality of life and community issues are important to better positioning ourselves for new and expanding industries. We have a ways to go but we are on the right track, moving in the right direction. State Rep. Thomas Jackson, DThomasville, is also on the Rural Committee of 100. Dianne Norris Welch, who grew up in Grove Hill and is now a realtor in Monroeville, is on it too as is Dr. Billy Powell, executive vice president of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association and a native of Leroy. There are other legislators, business people, county officials, educators and more on the committee. Dr. Paul Hubbert, executive director of the Alabama Education Association and a former gubernatorial candidate is a member and sat through the first session taking detailed notes. The other 99 are much more qualified than me to serve but I am glad to be a part and excited about the prospects of helping rural Alabama. I'm excited about what the Alabama Rural Action Commission can do too. Rural Alabama is finally getting the attention it deserves!
Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
