The Huron Community Foundation (HCF) is inviting the public to participate in “Huron Rising – Reimagine Our Future” on Wednesday, September 12, 6-9pm at the Campus Center in Central Park.
The purpose of the visioning session is to identify community priorities for enhancing the quality of life in Huron. The results will be used to create a roadmap for the Foundation, elected officials, and other Huron nonprofit organizations to prioritize funding for future Huron projects.
Steve Gohn, President of the HCF, believes hearing the community’s diverse needs and wants is essential to making any future investments in Huron a success. “Huron continues to grow and its needs as a community are evolving more rapidly every day,” notes Gohn. “We we want to be sure that we have a clear understanding of what the community values and how we can enhance the community to make it more desirable and livable for years to come.”
In addition to invited community leaders and elected officials, the public is highly encouraged to register for Huron Rising. “This event will only be a success if we are able to bring all different segments of our community together to share their diverse and innovative perspectives, ideas, and concepts for making Huron better,” said Gohn.
Registration is limited to allow round-table work groups to dive into all areas of Huron’s future. Interested members of the public are encouraged to register early to ensure they get a seat at the event and a voice in Huron’s future. Registration is online at www.HuronCommunityFoundation.org, or call 352-0000. Those unable to participate in person are encouraged to submit their ideas via email to [email protected], and their ideas will be shared during the event.
“Opening up the event to community groups, as well as members of the entire Huron community, will help us understand where we can make the best investment of our time and resources as a Foundation,” said Gohn. “Asking the whole community to be part of these sessions will help us know what sort of action, new partnerships, and even funding sources might be available to make the ideas and vision we gather a reality.”
The listening and design session will be facilitated by Dr. Bill Anderson. Bill, who lives in Vermillion, is the Chief Experience Officer for the First National Bank in Sioux Falls, and is a Huron native.
“We invited Bill to be part of this effort because of his expertise in working with communities and because of his deep love for the Huron community,” said HCF board member David McGirr. “Huron Rising is a ‘hand-in-glove’ fit for his talents and background,” said McGirr.
“I’m delighted to help with Huron Rising,” notes Anderson, “and if the event can cast a vision for improving the quality of life in Huron, I’m excited to do that.”
Anderson said he believes in Huron, its people, and the way that it’s continued to invest itself economically, socially, and culturally over the past decade. “Huron matters to me – my wife and I are fortunate to call Huron our hometown, our families still enjoy living and working in Huron, and our children love visiting any chance we get.”
Following the session, the results will be pulled together into an Executive Summary and shared with the participants and the community on September 19th. The results will then be used to guide Community Foundation investment and fundraising efforts, as well as shared with other nonprofit and governmental entities.
“We’re excited to get Huron’s best thinking so we can use our resources – and seek out new partnerships – to improve Huron’s quality of life,” notes McGirr. “We can’t do it without the people who love and value Huron and see its potential as a growing, thriving community.”
The Huron Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization formed in April 2004 to create a community savings account that will grow and benefit everyone in Huron for generations to come. Questions about the Foundation or the Huron Rising event should be directed to HCF President Steve Gohn at 354-1118 or [email protected].
(Huron Community Foundation)