DATE: June, 2007

NEXT NC STEP JOINT SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING - June 25th

The next Bladen Cluster NC STEP Joint Sub-Committees meeting (including the Leadership, Tourism / Shop at Home, Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship / Small Business and Building Renovations Sub-Committees) is scheduled for Monday, June 25, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

The location of the meeting will be announced soon.

DATE: June 1, 2007

LYNN WELBORN OF BLADEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
AGREES TO SERVE BLADEN CLUSTER AS "COMMUNITY INNOVATOR"

The NC Rural Center has asked each of the 20 NC STEP Communities to designate a "Community Innovator" for their communities. The purpose of the "Community Innovator" is to help develop a new type of leader that complements the traditional leadership skills that we are developing in each of the NC STEP Community Teams.

Lynn Welborn of BCC has agreed to serve as the "Community Innovator" for our cluster.

Whereas traditional leadership is focused on specific goals, objectives and concrete outcomes, a Community Innovator is a local leader coached in the concepts, methods and skills of how to seed new ways of thinking and acting that is consistent with emerging trends and weak signals never before experienced in a society that is constantly changing.

As the "Community Innovator", Lynn will attend the Community Innovator Retreat on June 14th and 15th. The training (which is sponsored by the NC Rural Center) will be held at Grassy Creek Vineyard and Winery in Elkin, NC.

DATE: June 1, 2007

BRENDA CLARK AND DAVID BONE
ATTEND NC STEP TRAINING MAY 30TH, 31ST
ON BEHALF OF THE BLADEN CLUSTER

Brenda Clark (representing White Lake) and David Bone (representing Elizabethtown) represented the Bladen NC STEP Cluster at NC STEP training, which was held in Raleigh on May 30th and 31st. Representatives of each of the 20 NC STEP communities participated in the event.

Brenda and David reported on the successes and challenges we are facing in our cluster and received information and training that they will bring back to the cluster.

There will be additional NC STEP training opportunities in the future, and Sub-Committee Chairpersons and other Bladen NC STEP Cluster leaders are encouraged to try to attend these training sessions in the future. We will try to share information about upcoming training opportunities as soon as possible so that other leaders can plan to attend.

DATE: May 1, 2007

WATER / SEWER EXPERT SPEAKS TO
THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUB-COMMITTEE
ON APRIL 23, 2007

At its April 23rd meeting in Bladenboro, the Infrastructure Committee participated in a briefing by Mrs. Jean Klein of Klein Consulting out of Apex. Jean was the former Vice President of Business Development and Natural Resources at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center in Raleigh. She is currently the Executive Director of the State Infrastructure Council, a legislatively appointed body that makes policy recommendations on water and sewer issues to the Governor and General Assembly.

Mrs. Klein shared information on statewide water and sewer issues, especially those affecting rural communities. While at the Rural Center, Mrs. Klein directed a comprehensive statewide assessment of water and sewer needs. The results of that study showed that North Carolina faces a cost of over $16 billion in water and sewer needs between now and the year 2030.

Based on her experience, Mrs. Klein spoke about several key issues facing rural water and sewer systems. Foremost of these is the need to charge realistic rates that reflect the true cost of providing water and sewer services. Too many communities are undercharging for these services resulting in ever increasing costs down the road. Too many communities are delaying rehabilitation and upgrades to their systems in order to keep rates low. She also spoke of the need for communities to get a realistic handle on their systems by doing a complete analysis of their operations and maintenance. From this assessment, communities need to develop and implement an action plan that will keep these systems up to standard.

Other issues that were touched on included the pressing need for experienced and licensed operators, regionalization of systems, and the need for the education of elected officials and citizens about water and sewer systems.

NC STEP Coach Roger Sheats has stated that other experts are available who can help-out other sub-committees. If your sub-committee is interested in having an "expert" come and share with you, contact Chuck Heustess, David Bone, or Brenda Clark, and they will pass the message on to Roger.

DATE: April 18, 2007

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE / BLADEN'S BLOOMIN' MOVES TO INCUBATOR BUILDING IN THE ELIZABETHTOWN INDUSTRIAL PARK

The offices of the Bladen County Economic Development Office (which also houses Bladen's Bloomin') has moved from the Powell-Melvin Agricultural Building to the incubator building in the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. The office's new telephone number is 645-2292.