Leaders suggest different strategies for smaller towns

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. -- Revitalizing small towns across America will only require one step -- totally rethinking the way economic development is done.

OK, it's a big step.

But a necessary one, according to civic and business leaders from across Missouri who participated in a "town hall meeting" Wednesday at a leadership conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort.

"We've got to challenge this trade-show mentality," said Kevin Stover, sales manager with the Missouri Department of Economic Development. "Just because we've done something the same way for 30 years, it doesn't mean that's the best way to continue doing things. The world, especially business, is constantly changing."

Instead of focusing all the energy on luring in a 1,000-job plant, for example, why not use "home-grown" talent of people already in the community and make it easier for them to become entrepreneurs, he said.

"In reality, getting one of those 1,000-job plants probably isn't all that likely," he said. "But people still want us to go after them."

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' annual conference focused on reviving rural America. The two-day event was attended by about 250 business leaders, elected officials, economic developers and transportation officials.

The town hall meeting -- moderated by television host Bill Kurtis of the A&E channel -- seemed to be the one that got the guests most fired up as they expressed exasperation about the people back home who seem resistent to change.

Chuck Brazeale, a banker and cattle farmer from Paris, Mo., said his community of 1,500 hasn't had much economic activity in years because of a "leadership problem."

Danita Allen Wood, editor-in-chief of Missouri Life magazine, lives in Fayette, Mo. She said her town has the three key ingredients: places to eat, places to stay and things to do. But there is no cross-promotion, she said.

"They don't work together to pitch themselves," she said. "They don't promote our quality of life."

Building a successful community all comes back to doing things differently, said Martin Shukert of RDG Planning & Design in Omaha, Neb. His company specializes in urban design, comprehensive planning, trails and transportation issues.

In many small towns, community leaders see things like trails and the arts as frills.

"They're not," Shukert said. "They're assets and towns need to start investing in those assets."

Small towns need to make a careful assessment of their strengths -- what is unique about it and why would people want to come there. Instead, many towns dwell on their weaknesses, Shukert said.

Small towns also need to embrace new technologies, like the Internet, said Michael Ravenscraft, co-founder of Pricemonk.com, a textbook Web site he founded in Kirksville, Mo.

With the help of an Internet connection and a computer, small-town business can gain access to millions of customers, Ravenscraft said. Internet sales continue to climb every year, he said. Businesses should be listing their inventories on innovative Web sites, he said.

"It's simply another avenue of economic development," he said.

Meanwhile, most cities still rely on economic development officials to do all the work in ways that may not be working, Shukert said.

"I'm not sure what they're doing all day," he said. "I walked into the office of one stuffing envelopes with brochures. I asked him if he thought he was going to entice new businesses and he said, 'Probably not. But this is what the city leaders want me to do.' That can't be the best way to stimulate an economy."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137