Assessment looks at our community’s assets, opportunities  

By DONNA COLLINS Staff Writer 

Camden News 12/15/2009    

   What did two outsiders see when they took a look at community development in Ouachita and Calhoun counties?
   Abundant resources and opportunities, according to a written assessment by community development consultants Dianne Williams and Freeman McKindra.
   The pair facilitated two nights of community development assessment sponsored by Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development and Southern Arkansas University Tech. About 70 residents, business owners, industry managers, church leaders, civic and nonprofit organizations and city and county officials attended the meetings held at the Ross Center in Camden.
   In addition to assessing community assets and opportunities, other goals of the meetings were connecting people, programs and organizations and to determine issues that should be the focus of development efforts in 2010.
   SAU Tech Chancellor Dr. Corbet Lamkin, an ex officio OPED board member and chairman of the two-county strategic planning process, delivered a written assessment of the meetings at the most recent OPED board meeting.
   The area planning is part of a statewide initiative by Gov. Mike Beebe and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. "There was a wide range of participation," Lamkin told the board. "We can be proud of the number of successes identified."
   Those successes included annual events - BPW Barn Sale, Daffodil Festival and Garden Tours, South Arkansas Kennel Club Dog Shows and Obedience Trials, Relay for Life cancer fundraiser as well as many other events. Also included among the many community assets were civic clubs, churches, and the large volunteerism of residents in both counties.
   Program participants also listed financial and political assets along with cultural and natural assets. Near the conclusion of the assessment session a list of priorities for future focus was compiled. Issues listed include construction of a multipurpose facility, education matters, development of infrastructure, social services, recreation, jobs and health.
   The next step will be forming steering committees for each focus area. Complete copies of the assessment are available at the Ouachita Valley Business and Technology Development Center at 625 Adams Ave. For more information about participating in future community development activities call 836-2210.