Creative Class and Culture

I think the idea of attracting a creative class, that creates their own employment, has merit. I think the Canton-Potsdam area already has much of the requisite ingredients in place. So do some of the Adirondack communities. I'm not sure how many folks of that description it would take to effect the local economy. Would they be full-time residents, or would they leave the area for key services and culture?

One of the the problems is "Bubba blight"- and I mean no disrespect, my farm would be one of the first on the list of needing work. But, unless I'm wrong, these folks would be disgusted, or at least turned off, by the redneck homes and trailers. We're not just clinging to our guns, we've also got two refrigerators, 3 just-in-case cars, old farm equipment, and wood piles. How do you get that to change? Zoning laws? Local ordinances?

It's hard to put aesthetics high on the list when time and money don't allow for that luxury- or when that's not a value you have. The poor are often not yearning for bucolic porches and architectural pleasures- one of the favorite quotes is: "Too rich for my blood." They fix your roof and deliver your wood. Front yards to the contrary, they consume little- no jet flights, no vacations, no new cars or new clothes. Venison stew is a staple. They conserve because they can't afford their electric bill. They know which dumpster at which supermarket is filled at a certain time. But.. they are an eyesore.

Could a creative turtle-type (job on their back, person inside) see beyond what appears to be a blight on a pristine landscape? There are so many stereotypes about nature being bucolic and stately. How can good people, with economic jumper cables under their arms, live cheek by jowl with Appalachian third-world types? Or am I overly sensitive to this issue?

Out of the blue

At the end of January or early February I went on my first real interview for a photojournalism job. Obviously I didn't get the job. I probably took it a little too personal especially when the guy didn't get back to me, I just never heard from him. Well last week I heard from him. He emailed me out of the blue saying he would be in town interviewing and asked if I would like to come down if I was still looking for a job. I said I was still looking and that I would come and interview, again. There was another guy there with him that I hadn't met before and who hadn't seen my work so that was fine. It felt a little more comfortable than the last time but I felt the last time went well and nothing came of it. But to me the oddest thing that has happened in both interviews and subsequent emails is that the guy has told me to get in touch with another organization for a possible job or internship. Keep in mind this place has not advertised for a job or internship and he has told me that he doesn't know anyone there, he just wants me to contact them cold. I don't have too much of a problem of contacting someone cold but for him to tell me this during BOTH interviews just perplexes me. Maybe by telling me to do that it makes him feel a little better not to select me. But really I have no clue, I should know by the end of the week if it works out with him or I should contact the other organization.

Sarah
photographer/recent graduate

Chronic? Yes..sort of...

We were talking about this in the newsroom yesterday. It came up in our "A Year of Hard Choices" opening interview with economist Greg Gardner. He had said New York might lag behind the rest of the country in recovering from this economic crisis, so I asked about this chronic recession idea. Yes, sort of. Listen:


I also asked him if there were a model for job creation anywhere that could be plugged into the North Country. He had said no, begging my followup, "Do we just live with it?" Not exactly. Listen:


What about this idea of the "creative class?" Could putting economic development resources into quality of life improvements, instead of -- what, a new manufacturer? an ethanol plant? a super-conducting super-collider? -- change the flat-to-downward trend in the North Country?

Chronic Recession

As I have been working with this blog and talking to people of the North Country about the recession there have been several comments that people here aren't feeling the effects so much because there is a chronic recession here in the North Country. I think it would be interesting to hear from people who think this is true and those who don't think it is true.

Ebb and Flow

For the second time this year I have had two real possibilities for a job or internship at the same time. This last time was especially frustrating.

Scenario One:
An internship for an NGO that would take place in a different country. The deal breaker is that I would have to pay my way. After looking closer at my school loans I just couldn't swing it.

Scenario Two:
An internship at a daily newspaper but that position was "eliminated," in the newspaper industry I can only imagine why.

The frustration continues.

Sarah
photographer/recent graduate

Seeking Arts Stimulus Money

In the stimulus package $50 million was allocated for the arts, money put back in after our own Senator Schumer initially voted against it (Gillibrand in favor). It was put in because many people across the nation sent lots of letters, emails, faxes and phone calls to Congress. Thus far applying for those funds has been anything but easy. First, if you had not applied to the National Endowment for the Arts in the past four years you were not allowed to apply to them for stimulus funds. Why, to make the NEA's job easier in vetting who is worthy. Thanks for your mail, but sorry - try your local arts agency (assuming it still exists). 

Let's say you have applied in the past but you need to update your data. First make sure you have a DUNS number. That takes 2 days. Then there is the scary part, registering with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) or modifying your data. The amount of data is vast, repetitive and the instructions are filled with jargon, bad English and red herrings. Also you learn later it must be entered and saved in 3-minute bursts. You find yourself filling out forms not needed and missing those that are. Try calling the help desk. An hour wait is fast. Not being able to reach a person by phone for 2 days not unusual, and often from another agency as the regular people are too swamped. Good news is when you get through you get an ID number, told you will be put on a fast track and that you will be called back. They never do. Along the way you have to create a new pass code and remember you are required to change it once every 4 months.

After a week or two of wasted hours and days on hold, frustration and curses, you get your CCR ID. Then it is on to step three, Grants.gov. You need your DUNS and CCR number to enter, where you get to register all over again, all this before even seeing an application form. Grant.gov can take a week, doesn't recognize certain Word documents or server platforms, and so on. The whole process is demeaning, painful, confusing, poorly organized and seems designed to discourage people from applying.

To its credit the NEA did extend some deadlines a week, but event that wasn't enough (nor is their site as easily navigated as they like to think it is). Their advice, complain to your Congressperson.

In the Running

To put it bluntly I had a mini break down today. I don't use that term lightly, I know there are people out there in worse positions than mine and when I think about that I feel even worse for feeling depressed like I am. I think it had been brewing for a few days now after getting a clearer look at my student loans and because of that having to say no to an internship opportunity. I read the last few posts by the bloggers and they have some encouraging news but in the end they say it will take a while. Well that is hard for me to hear, as I am sure it is for other people as well. I am not a patient person to begin with. I have been in contact with someone for a job since the beginning of January. They just wanted to keep the application process open for a while. They said they liked my work and to check back. So I have been. Last time I did the guy told me I was still in the running. Still in the running? It has been over three months how long is this marathon that I am running? That is what I want to know. Hopefully this funk with me won't last long as I tear up a bit writing this, hopefully after this weekend and an opening day softball game I can hit the ground running again.

Sarah
photographer/recent graduate

Jeff Yost keynotes North Country Symposium on rural community building

This morning, I talked with Jeff Yost during the 8 O'clock Hour -- he's head of the Nebraska Community Foundation, which is a sort of umbrella organization for lots of small community organizations/foundations.
He's another person with good ideas about how rural communities -- and most he works with are under 1,000 people --, can actually make progress toward long term sustainability. (He's just been in Washington, DC, sharing his ideas with Congress.) In his keynote speech at the North Country Symposium at St. Lawrence U. this morning, he talked about a strategy called HomeTown Competitiveness, subtitled A Come-Back/Give-Back Approach to Rural Community Building. He's working in an area that has fewer people, spread over greater distances, than even here in this region, and he's reporting out some pretty impressive stories. The four strategic areas? Leadership development, youth development, local charitable assets, and entrepreneurial development.
Last week, Greg Gardner said there is no silver bullet to solve this region's economic challenges. Yost used the same words. They also agreed that economic growth has to be "homegrown," that loss of young people is perhaps the greatest challenge of all to rural areas (and solving it offers the greatest opportunity), and that this'll take a while.
But as I said -- Yost has encouraging news.

Giving in Challenging Times

The hard choices began last September and really hit home in October as the stock market crashed. The choices involved organizational sustainability and personal leadership through a period of intense uncertainty. I am the director of a small community foundation growing philanthropy to serve the Adirondacks. We work with individuals and families who are deeply committed to the health and vitality of Adirondack communities and nonprofit organizations. Donors to our foundation, the Adirondack Community Trust (ACT), support hundreds of nonprofit organizations that provide services to our neighbors and preserve our special way of life.

Throughout the end of 2008 and into 2009, I began to talk with donors and nonprofits about how they were “weathering the storm” and evaluate gift and grant trends as ACT planned for an uncertain future. What a relief it was when the numbers revealed that donors are indeed continuing to give. Donors through ACT enhanced their commitments to the causes they care most about. We were blown away. Indeed, in the face of deep economic challenges, Adirondack residents are living up to their reputation for generosity.

It was a different story for many nonprofits that face daunting challenges; they are asked to do much more with much less. Many I spoke with were fighting the urge to focus on negative scenarios and simply hunker down; some were contemplating closing down. It will be interesting to see how well NCPR does with its spring membership drive; they are off to a great start.

2010 will not be easy for anyone. Like every nonprofit organization, ACT will have fewer resources available to cover its operating budget and to serve its communities. However, this situation presents us with an opportunity to envision ACT stronger and healthier and to implement strategies to achieve this vision. We are moving ahead by assessing our performance during this downturn—and by developing new ways to achieve our mission given the new ‘economic reality’ and its unique challenges and opportunities.

In future posts, I will talk about some key benchmarks and strategies ACT is considering to “weather the storm” in 2009.

Eggs and the word on the "farmer's street"

We like to use local products at our cafe, and recently our "egg lady" hasn't been able to deliver what we needed for eggs.

So off-handedly I mentioned to David Summerstein, when he came to interview us for this series, that the cafe is looking for a new egg distributor. I didn't think that he would include this in the clip that went onto the radio, but sure enough, he did.
Not even 2 minutes after the clip had finished airing, someone called about selling eggs. I was surprised and excited. We found a new "egg lady"!
And wouldn't you know, I've gotten 3 more calls in the last 4 days from people who have eggs to sell.
It's great, having local eggs again. They're fresher and we're putting money back into our economy.

But here's what I'm wondering: Does local food actually add to our allure? Do people specifically come out to our restaurant because we use local ingredients?

Believe it or not, I have been under the impression that the answer is no. It's rare that we hear feedback about local food from our customers.

Our employee, Kathy Rice, disagrees with me however. She and her husband grow and sell veggies at farmer's market through their business, Sweetcore Farm. This past summer they were worried about their business making enough money as a result of rising fuel costs.
However, to their surprise, they made more money than they ever have because volume was up significantly.
She says that this is a similar situation for other farmers who sell at Canton's market.

According to Kathy, the "locavore" food movement is really picking up in Canton.

And farmers are noticing a difference.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people in the North Country are intentionally choosing to spend their food dollars at home.

If it's true, that's great news for farmers!!