STEVENS POINT - Wisconsin Rural Partners, Inc. awarded the Top Rural Development Initiatives for 2014 at a ceremony at the Holiday Inn, Stevens Point on Friday, May 2, 2014. The awards were presented by Wisconsin Rural Partners president Dennis Deery and award judging panel members at the Wisconsin Rural Summit.
The seven efforts receiving Top Initiative awards are:
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Bayfield Regional Food Producers Cooperative- Cooperative Marketing, Bayfield - The FPC has grown to 22 farm and business members with products including: beef, fish, poultry, pork, lamb, vegetables, coffee, cheese, bakery, flour, lacto fermented foods, fruit, and spritzer. The organization has also grown to include a very successful Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program and a recently implemented Wholesale Program, both serving a wide area.
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Door County Transportation Consortium: Door-Tran Inc. - This comprehensive rural transportation program – a consortium of 43 organizations - has grown to include Door-to-Door (D2D – the county’s first transportation system), vouchers, veterans transportation and many volunteer-driven services.
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Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College Sustainable Agriculture Research Station, Hayward - The Station provides educational opportunities in sustainable agriculture and food preservation and also offers programs such as Renewable Energy Sustainable Development, Community Supported Agriculture and the LCO Farmers Market.
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Meadow Park Estates Reclamation, Rockland - A number of critical and beneficial partnerships were harnessed to revive a dormant development and create 14 units of housing resulting in an increase of $2 million in additional tax base and housing for 50 new residents, which is more than 8% growth for the small village.
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Food Enterprise Center – Sue Noble, Viroqua - The Food Enterprise Center in Viroqua creates amazing opportunities for food entrepreneurs and social investors by providing infrastructure for innovative food and wellness/exercise-related businesses to startup and expand. The center now houses more than 10 food and wellness-related businesses which employ at least 45 people.
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Village of Waunakee Creative Economy Initiative, Waunakee - In the first year of Waunakee’s Creative Economy Initiative (CEI), numerous project partners concentrated on completing a local asset inventory, discovering the creativity, artistry and innovation already existing in the Village. Subsequent work resulted in the annual Imagination Celebration in 2012 and 2013, an event meant to connect people through creativity, and attended by over 1,200 people each year.
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W3: Working for Whitewater's Wellness, Whitewater – Through W3 an exemplary community-based wellness coalition was created, which now includes the Whitewater Unified School District, the City of Whitewater, Fort HealthCare, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In four years the coalition has launched or supported a number of effective initiatives, designed to make sure that residents of Whitewater live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives
Complete descriptions of the 2014 Top Rural Development Initiative winners and a list of all 29 nominations are available.
Wisconsin Rural Partners is a statewide non-profit organization that develops rural networks and leaders, and provides a voice for rural Wisconsin. WRP is the federally-recognized State Rural Development Council for Wisconsin.
This is the fourteenth year that Wisconsin Rural Partners has recognized Wisconsin's Top Rural Development Initiatives. The program is designed to identify, highlight, and share innovative models, practices and programs that have a positive impact on rural Wisconsin communities. Wisconsin Rural Partners created the program to provide a mechanism for rural communities to learn from each other.
Contact: Ricky Rolfsmeyer, 608-967-2322;
ricky@wirural.org
Dennis Deery,
dennis@wirural.org
