The fourth annual Small City Economic Leadership Empowerment Summit will take place on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at the University of Central Arkansas. The event is hosted by Houseaboutit, a nonprofit community development organization that specializes in implementing educational services and restoring, building, and revitalizing small communities in the Delta and other rural parts of Arkansas.
“This year’s theme for the Summit is Shared Vision, Shared Growth. We are looking to build connections between rural community leaders, elected officials and community and economic developers with this summit. Every year our summit grows and we are excited to have the event at UCA,” said Susan Forte, Executive Director of Houseaboutit.
The Summit will aim to educate rural Arkansas community members on how to locate funding resources for their communities and how to build stronger leadership through community and economic development. Highlights of this year’s summit include sessions on funding opportunities, community and economic development, workforce services, and an update on work in the Delta. The summit will be live-streamed by Connect Arkansas.
This event is supported by UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development. “The Summit provides participants with valuable information on available resources, as well as unique ways to address issues impacting rural Arkansas. We are pleased to continue our partnership with Houseaboutit and the other organizations involved in this event,” said Amy Whitehead, Director of the Center for Community and Economic Development.
The Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) is part of UCA’s Division of Outreach and Community Engagement. CCED manages the Community Development Institute Central (CDI), supports Arkansas communities and community developers through training and technical assistance, and helps represent the university in its community engagement efforts.
Other Summit sponsors and partners include USDA Rural Development, University of Arkansas Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement, Delta Regional Authority, Entergy Arkansas, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, Renew East Arkansas, Arkansas Representative Mark McElroy, and Arkansas State Representative Frederick Love.
For more information regarding the conference, visit: www.houseaboutit.org.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Josh Markham at 501-450-3460 or by e-mail at joshm@uca.edu
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