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THE BIG RURAL BRAINSTORM

Meridian Center, Newton

It took place February 3-4, 2012

POST NEWS RELEASE

BREAKOUT SESSION TOPICS

ABOUT THE BRB FORMAT

RURAL ACTIONS

INFORMATION BELOW IS WHAT
WENT OUT BEFORE THE BRB

WHAT IF... we brought a couple of hundred passionate rural Kansans together, stirred up the energy, and looked at common issues from a completely different point of view?

WHAT IF... we all were committed to a renewed rural and we amped up our collective energies and focused on ideas that could result in grassroots action--some by the time we leave?

WHAT IF... the room was full of PowerUps (21-39s who are rural by choice and aspirational PowerUps) to mix with all those who have been working at this for years?

And, WHAT IF... we had a lot of fun doing this?

DETAILS

WHEN: Friday, February 3 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday, February 4, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Meridian Center, 1420 E. Broadway Ct., Newton. Located at I-135 and Broadway.

HOW MUCH: $40 (price includes lunch/dinner/snacks on Friday and continental breakfast on Saturday)

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

LODGING INFORMATION: Find it here. The Holiday Inn Express is located next door to the Meridian Center. Until January 27, the HIE is offering King Suites for $109.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Anyone who lives or works in rural communities and wants to be part of a solution.

Good rural advocate thinkers, people who can see the big picture.

PowerUps! 21-39s who are rural by choice - or who are aspirational PowerUps.

PowerOns! 40+ who are passionate about living in rural Kansasand who have already done so much to sustain rural Kansas.

And, especially, representatives from volunteer-led communities.

Can you imagine what the shared energies of passionate ruralists from every aspect of rural life can accomplish? Come and find out. This is about taking action.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE BIG RURAL BRAINSTORM?

The goal: To bring together people from every aspect of rural life in order to find common possibilities and create innovative grassroots solutions THAT ARE ACHIEVABLE, especially by volunteer-led communities.

IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER CONFERENCES?

We promise. This will be different. It is not a conference. There is nothing traditional about this event. There won't be any speakers. You will be the experts. Your thoughts will be the ones that generate the action.

We want/need every person to engage -- and to be positive.

This is designed to create actions at the grassroots level.

The smallest communities are valued here.

The exciting thing is that instead of rural people being part of an education, tourism, or health care conference, we'll have representatives from all those fields being part of a rural conference.The mix of perspectives will help us think more creatively.

WHAT WILL WE DO AND TALK ABOUT?

Primarily, we will break into different groups all day long to look at specific common issues in rural Kansas. The idea is not to beat an issue to death but to create action steps from the collective mind.

There will be many PowerUps in attendance so maybe one topic will be how to address the lack of entertainment in rural communities. Imagine looking at possible solutions from an outside-the-box view rather than reverting to the standard litany of things that have been tried and didn't work. The plan is to figure out what can work.

We'll be listing topics on this site as they are confirmed.