Community: What will it look like in the Metaverse? In October of 2021, a NASA flight surgeon was beamed aboard the International Space Station as a hologram. Dr. Josef Schmid had his feet planted...
The Politics of Civic Engagement
The Politics of Civic Engagement: A Concept Pushed Too Far? Or a Critical Tool for Your Community’s Success? Civic engagement: what is it? When asked for his secret to a successful political career...
Four Trends in Small Town Economic Development
Two Trends to Try, and Two to Leave Behind Two Small Town Economic Development Trends to Try: Small town economic development is about building a community, not just an economy. In my travels across...
Community Development Strategies: The Future vs. The Obsolete
Community development strategies were on my mind the other night when I decided to sit down for an evening to watch a movie. If you watch a movie, on what do you watch it? Do you go on your Netflix...
Unmasking the Opposition to Masks
If it’s not obvious by the title, I take issue with those opposed to wearing masks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anti-maskers make four basic arguments that may sound reasonable at...
The Value of Video Games
I have teenage boys who love playing video games on their PlayStation. To be honest, I like playing on occasion, too. It’s an outlet for stress, frustration, and creativity when I can’t walk, or...
Building Community Success
We should have known 2020 was going to be a bad year from the get-go. In the first week of January, residents of Hinton, Edson and Lacombe learned their local newspapers were closing. The Hinton...
No Simple and Easy Prescription for Community Success
Burlington, Vermont, USA at Church Street Marketplace. When the Covid crisis is over, somebody should write a book and perhaps entitle it, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in the Pandemic.” Top...
The Future is Coming… Now
To thrive, not merely survive, during the pandemic takes more than hand washing and physical distancing. It requires bandwidth. Not all of us who are fortunate enough to have a job and the skills...
Community Building in a time of COVID
Things will never be the same. But things were never going to be the same. The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed the world but it has accelerated the pace of change that was already coming. It...