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Growing Rural Oregon Initiative Welcomes St. Helens as Member
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2022
St. Helens leaders will work to build local entrepreneurial ecosystems using GRO framework
St. Helens, Ore. – Over the next five years, local leaders in St. Helens will join a cohort of rural communities across the state who are committed to supporting strong entrepreneurial growth and “bottom up” economic development using the Growing Rural Oregon (GRO) framework.
With targeted coaching and funding for a local GRO Coordinator, the leadership team in St. Helens will be equipped to identify growth and investment opportunities, leverage best practices, and connect to new ideas, resources, and industry leaders. They will also have the benefit of learning from and networking with peers in GRO’s inaugural cohort: John Day, Independence, and Klamath Falls.
GRO recognizes that every rural community has entrepreneurial talent, but not every community has an entrepreneurial “ecosystem” with the resources and supports necessary for rural entrepreneurs to become established and achieve success. GRO’s flexible framework serves all kinds of communities – those that are brand new in their efforts to support entrepreneurship, those that have systems in place, and those that have done this work for a long time.
“We always meet communities where they are,” said Kathleen Flanagan, director of Community Economic Development at The Ford Family Foundation. “When you take a grassroots approach and focus on entrepreneurship, you build better diversified and more stable economies that are much more adaptive and prepared for change.”
Rapid change has been the experience of St. Helens, where post-COVID start-up and spin-off businesses are booming, a new Small Business Development Center and a Main Streets organization have both opened, and the City has launched redevelopment of its business district and waterfront.
“The inclusion of St. Helens in the GRO initiative is a very fortunate convergence,” said Paul Vogel, Executive Director of the Columbia Economic Team. “In a rural county, when one community is strengthened and elevated, every community is strengthened and elevated.”
John Walsh, City Administrator of St. Helens echoed these sentiments. “With this support, we can leverage local assets and grow local talent.”
Partnership is critical to GRO’s success. GRO utilizes a framework developed in close collaboration with e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, a leader in rural economic development with more than 30 years of experience in the field. The e2 framework has been field tested for nearly two decades by NetWork Kansas and dozens of other communities across the U.S. The initiative is housed within Oregon’s Economic Development Districts and managed by Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC).
To learn more about Growing Rural Oregon, its partners, and the communities involved, please visit www.growingruraloregon.org.
About The Ford Family Foundation
The Ford Family Foundation was established in 1957 by Kenneth W. and Hallie E. Ford. Its mission is “successful citizens and vital rural communities” in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. The Foundation is located in Roseburg, Oregon, with a Scholarship office in Eugene. www.tfff.org
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For further information regarding St. Helens’ participation in Growing Rural Oregon, please contact Government Affairs Specialist Rachael Barry at rbarry@sthelensoregon.gov.
