In March and April, eighteen LeadershipPlenty® classes were offered in Columbus to help equip citizens for community leadership.
http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/06/26/horizons-accomplishments-leadership-classes/
Estate Planning isn’t always the most exciting topic. However, on April 17, 2008 Marsha Goetting of Montana State University Extension grabbed the attention of 55 individuals from across Stillwater County to enlighten them on the topic. Her games and enthusiastic approach to the topic made estate planning a little more exciting and an imperative task for those who attended. Goetting was invited into the County by the Columbus Horizons Project. The Horizons steering committee thought that estate planning was a topic that needed to be discussed in our community. By hosting this FREE seminar, everyone interested was able to attend and learn invaluable information that is often costly to learn. Through Horizons the barriers that may often exist were eliminated and helped make this seminar a great success.
http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/05/30/estate-planning-seminar-a-success/
Assistant Professor, Extension Community Development Specialist of Montana State University, Paul Lachapelle, was invited into Stillwater County on February 27 to share information on being an effective and confident board member. The presentation also detailed the many legal issues that surround the actions of formalized boards and their decision making processes. Approximately 96 individuals from across Stillwater County were in attendance. The information is invaluable to the boards that exist in all of our small communities and will assist the various boards in operating more effectively. Having this knowledge will also make them more attractive to members of the community as they step into leadership roles with the knowledge that these boards are well trained and empowering to their new members.
Many people are not aware of the role that Horizons has taken in encouraging cooperation between the people of Columbus. Though some may know that the Farmers’ Market was brought in part by the Horizons Project, they sometimes forget the many things that went on before anything that visible could be accomplished. They don’t remember the things like Study Circles or Leadership Plenty.
Leadership Plenty was one of the biggest successes of Horizons, because not only did it bring together people from Columbus, but people from surrounding communities such as Absarokee. Different people would be at each meeting, but everyone still managed to cooperate and learn about the best kind of change that could be brought to their own homes.
Study Circles were another huge accomplishment. Not only did the people in those groups have to cooperate with each other and respect different opinions, but the three main areas that Horizons is focused on–Mentoring, Beautification, and the Farmers’ Market–grew from the Study Circles.
Now, Horizons can be seen in the beautification projects that it has already completed, and ones that it will do in the future. The strong Farmers’ Market is another accomplishment. The most important thing that Horizons has done is not an individual project, but the unification of a community. Many steps still have to be taken to truly accomplish this goal, but come later this summer, the first step can already be seen in the turnout for the Farmers’ Market.
http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/05/27/horizons-makes-a-difference/