NREDA News Brief | March 2021 |
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NREDA Family! As spring approaches, many of us have started to build with anticipation for better weather, and more vaccines for all to return to a normal and direct connection with our rural communities and families. In our last NREDA Board of Directors meeting, I found myself pondering the connection between Rural America, our American journey as citizens and of course…electricity! The NREDA family stems back to the late 1980’s but its partnership with the electric cooperatives and major member organizations like NRECA, NTCA, and Touchstone Energy has gone hand in hand with our growth and development as an organization. It is this relationship with members, power users, rural communities, and local economic development agencies, that has led to NREDA’s long history of resource and best practice assistance to Rural America. There is a connectivity in the NREDA message that our cooperative entities know all too well, that connectivity is the metaphoric analogy of electricity and a rural American relationship built through NREDA.
For instance, we have one of our founding fathers in Ben Franklin whose experiment with a kite which brought the implicit reality of electricity to life. We can push past this feat and look into the 1800’s as the synergy builds from rural hamlet to urban structures. Power! Electricity! From an external variable to the permeating feature, in our indoor housing structures and businesses. Creativity and ingenuity creating the catalyst for our family of NREDA members, developers, and Electric Cooperatives.
We are all bound by the courage and vision of farmers, and intellectuals, who could artfully experiment with a kite on a stormy night and still cultivate the earth with the fortitude of many of our rural leaders across the country.
NREDA members…we are family…we are bound by our history, the beautiful mess that has created a bond like atoms and electrons. The people are the nucleus; the center; the binding piece. And, when our “nucleus” of members, electric cooperatives, and rural populous are pushed by negative charges of supply and demand, population losses, food insecurities, rolling blackouts, and pandemic misfortunes; We are equally pushed by the positive protons of creativity that spans from the 1800’s to today. We are pushed by the positive entrepreneurial reaches of our small businesses and agricultural manufacturers. We are pushed by the necessity to build, to grow, and to sustain our food, our energy, and our people. This is the essence of NREDA, of Touchstone Energy, of NRECA, NTCA, many other rural organizations, people, and leaders, who believe in Rural America. Let us continue to push the positive and negative charges to create more energy! To create a vision for the future of rural America. We are Family. We are NREDA. National. Rural. Connected.
NREDA President – Garry Clark
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Degrees of charring the white oak barrel selected for Bourbon are what gives the spirit its unique taste of vanilla, spice or that delicate sweetness of caramel. Depending on how hot the fire during the charring process, the elements of the oak break down to give the Bourbon a unique flavor as it matures in the barrel. It’s a science.
NREDA’s past conferences have charred the barrel for 2021’s event at the perfect temperature to meld the unique flavors of the 2021 Annual Conference with topics like:
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A pre-conference session on foreign opportunities with Matthias Beier, President and CEO of the Transatlantic Business and Investment Council, LP. Additional cost applies.
- Small town revitalization Keynote and Breakout Speaker Jason Duff, Founder at Small Nation
- Teaching in underserved areas, Ankur Gopal, CEO of Interpret
- Diversity, equity and inclusion, Curtis Wynn, President & CEO Roanoke Electric Cooperative and Subsidiaries; Immediate past National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
- Agriculture panel breakout session
- A panel of 2020 success stories
NREDA 2021 Annual Conference
Distilling a Brighter Future for Rural America
November 10–12, 2021
The Galt House Hotel
Louisville, Kentucky
Questions? Contact Denise Hoffman, CMP, Event Management Professional meetings@nreda.org or (515) 334-1049
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NREDA Membership Campaign |
David Cleveland and the NREDA Membership Committee could use your help recruiting new members to NREDA. As you know NREDA members are the lifeblood of the association and your board of directors has strategic goals to grow the NREDA family.
Each state will have a captain leading the charge and providing resources to recruit new members. If you are wanting to connect with your state captain, reach out to Kailah Schmitz, NREDA Executive Director at director@nreda.org.
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NADO Research Foundation Hosting Webinar on Rural Resilience and Economic Development on March 23
Many rural regions and small metros were still recovering from the Great Recession when the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year. And in places that had made progress, a lot of economic gains were wiped out as businesses closed, jobs disappeared, and entire industries reorganized. Now, as rural places seek to recover from these setbacks, communities are in a position to reset and create a strong foundation for the future, one rooted in resilience and creative ways of doing economic development. Join the NADO Research Foundation on March 23 from 2–3 p.m. ET for the webinar “Rural Resilience and Economic Development” with Don Macke of e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Don will share e2’s insights into growing a more prosperous rural America rooted in 40 plus years of work. During this session you’ll hear about structural challenges and opportunities in small towns and rural communities, “Mega Trends” in rural development, a prosperity community development framework, how to build entrepreneur-led ecosystems, and much more. There will also be ample time for Q and A with Don at the conclusion of the presentation. Click here to register. Contact Brett Schwartz at bschwartz@nado.org with any questions.
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APDU Hosting a Workshop Series on “Making the Best of the 2020 Census”
The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) is hosting a workshop series on "Making the Best of the 2020 Census" beginning April 14, 2021. Accurate statistics about 2020 will rely on much more than data collected via the decennial Census. Developing reliable data will require an understanding of challenges resulting from the pandemic, combined with greater use of non-traditional sources like administrative records. The solutions to these problems will impact how data is gathered going forward for a variety of purposes: education, housing, economic development, public health, and more. During this workshop series you will learn more about the quality of the data that state and local leaders rely on and how you can improve and supplement it. Register today for this series of town hall events and trainings.
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Executive Director
Meetings & Conferences
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Membership Dues, Billing
NREDA Website
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