Appalachian Leadership Institute meets in Rome
The focus of this four-day work session is infrastructure.
The Appalachian Leadership Institute, which is part of the Appalachian Regional Commission, will be finishing up a four-day work session at the Courtyard by Marriott Riverwalk on Friday.
The institute is a comprehensive leadership and economic development training opportunity for people who live or work in Appalachia and are trying to help their communities thrive.
“It’s really about getting people together from all sorts of backgrounds and professions to drive economic development — and to compare notes on what’s working to solve any number of community problems,” said
Rome Floyd Chamber President Pam Powers Smith.
Members participate in an extensive training curriculum developed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; The Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs; Tuskegee University; and Collective Impact LLC.
This week’s session was about infrastructure, and contained presentations such as “Access to Infrastructure” and “Infrastructure Decision Making.” It included a tour of the Rome wastewater treatment plant.
“We sometimes don’t realize how lucky we are in Rome and Floyd County to have some of the resources we have,” Powers-smith said. “Many counties in Appalachia have virtually no economic means to effect almost any positive change.”
This was the fourth of seven scheduled events, which have taken place in West Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina and now Georgia. Previous events were centered on Appalachian businesses, workforce, and infrastructure.
The remaining events are in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., and will be focused on culture and tourism as well as building community leaders.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region.
According to their website, ARC has made almost 34,000 targeted investments and invested over $5.65 billion in the region, which has been matched by nearly $11.7 billion in other federal, state, and local funding sources.