WCEDC Officers, Committee Members, and Executive Director Susan Judkins played a key role in WCEDC's MIRA success

The Warren County Economic Development Corporation (WCEDC) is a nonprofit volunteer organization established to promote and coordinate economic growth in all areas of Warren County, Iowa. The ultimate goal of the WCEDC is to enhance the quality of life enjoyed by all Warren County residents.

WCEDC directs efforts to cultivate leaders, facilitate community cooperation, guide economic development initiatives and assists organizations in their pursuit of local development efforts. WCEDC is particularly involved with initiatives in housing, transportation, and business development and retention, including agricultural, industrial, and commercial businesses.

Iowa communities celebrate their MIRA participation

As a MIRA CSO, WCEDC partnered with Simpson College, which served as the fiscal agent for the WCEDC MIRA project. For this project WCEDC proposed using funds for development of a web site; purchase of equipment, software and supplies; and training and travel expense for personnel. WCEDC wanted to use this technology initiative to improve its delivery of economic development and leadership development services to and for Warren County communities.

MIRA Trainer Gina Bartlett of San Francisco prepares WCEDC Board Members and others to deal with conflict

The WCEDC also proposed identifying ways to be of support to participating communities throughout the MIRA process. In addition to the construction of an organization web site, the WCEDC used MIRA funds and expertise to provide a variety of opportunities to their communities. WCEDC hosted several sessions on planning good web sites attended by interested cluster representatives from Warren County. WCEDC played a very supportive role throughout the cluster training process, including selection and hosting of some speakers and sessions, and working to ensure representative of ten or more individuals from each community at the workshops. MIRA funds were combined with other WCEDC funds to make a number of equipment purchases which improved the efficiency and professionalism of the WCEDC office. These included a laptop computer, color printer, scanner, Proxima LCD projector for PowerPoint and other presentations, cell phone and fax machine. Denny Smith, a motivational speaker who used some innovative technology in his presentation, was brought in to work with high school students from across the state as well as adult and youth participants in the Warren County Leadership Institute. ArcView software was purchased to make use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS,) an important economic development tool.

The laptop computer and cell phone made the office more mobile, a positive thing for an organization whose mission involves coordinating development throughout the county. The Proxima projector has been used extensively for presentations to development prospects and as an educational tool and the color printer allowed creation of enhanced marketing materials and other documents. WCEDC staff feel that although the equipment and web site service purchases were a real factor in the organization's improvements, the people who helped to maximize their use through training and other assistance were of even greater importance.

The MIRA grant also assisted in several sustainable development efforts:

• Warren Flint of 5 E's Unlimited was brought in to conduct a sustainable development workshop. Warren focused on ideas for using technology to do asset mapping (especially use of GIS) and to educate area residents on sustainability.
• An agricultural asset mapping project was begun, and results will be placed on WCEDC's web site when completed.
• A tour was held of the watershed area surrounding Lake Ahquabi State Park in Warren County to educate WCEDC board members and other interested citizens on the need to protect this region. Technologies available to assist in the protection of this area were discussed.
• The WCEDC executive director, board members and partners attended several meetings in Michigan sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for Community Support Organizations.
  
• WCEDC and Warren County Leadership Institute board members and staff joined
  representatives of the Western Iowa Tourism Region in an "Organizational Assessment" workshop facilitated by Victoria Creed of Learning Partner

Jon Backstrom demonstrates distance-learning technology at the Iowa CSOs' Technology Conference-"Technology for Today and Tomorrow"

Finally, WCEDC and the Western Iowa Tourism Region planned and facilitated a workshop entitled "Technology for Today and Tomorrow" in West Des Moines. The program had attendance of nearly 100 and received press coverage, including Successful Farming, a national magazine.

Skills WCEDC employees learned through the MIRA process have extended far beyond use in the original MIRA Initiative. Former Executive Director, Susan Judkins now works for the Division of Community & Rural Development at the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Her work on projects to improve rural communities,including doing telecommunications assessment activities now impacts communities across the state.