MHA Action Forum Tuesday

Are you wondering how to be more involved? This is an opportunity for you! On Tuesday, August 8, in the Downtown Park starting at 6 pm, the Henderson Chamber of Commerce and York County Development Corporation (YCDC), along with local facilitators, will present information about the community from the Marketing Hometown America (MHA) initiative completed earlier this year. The Henderson Chamber and the YCDC are jump starting this program because we believe our county can grow in population if we have a targeted people recruitment marketing plan.  

This program will look at what reasons people move to Henderson and York County and why people leave. Is it just about the job opportunities or are there other considerations? Are there things Henderson and York County can do to help recruit new residents? When an employer recruits an employee from outside of the region, what can we do to have this person become a York County resident?

“Marketing Home Town America is based on research conducted here in Nebraska. The process creates an opportunity for individuals to share their ideas and to help build a vision to attract and retain new residents to York County,” said Charlotte Narjes, University of Nebraska Community Development project specialist. 

 People who participated in the small group sessions at the end of 2016 in Henderson already have talked about the following topics:

• What new residents are looking for as they relocate to a rural community;

• Overlooked local assets that attract potential new residents;

• The importance of local family and friend referrals and the positive image that can be projected through a community website and social media;

• The skills of positive community dialogue to increase involvement and confidence in their ability to market their community;

• A marketing action plan that incorporates realistic and achievable actions to successfully market their community

• The community’s human capacity and confidence in using the dialogue approach to address future community issues.

 “This process helps a community with decisions on how to market themselves to potential new residents. When new residents find a good community ‘match,’ they stay and everyone benefits – the new residents, the current citizens and the community as a whole,” says Charlotte Narjes.  

Individuals wanting to learn about the information collected during the Henderson small group sessions, hear about their marketing plans and learn about the new task forces that are forming as a result of this project are encouraged to attend this action forum during the Farmers Market on Tuesday, August 8, starting at 6 pm in the Downtown Park.    

For more information contact the Henderson Chamber of Commerce at 402.723.4228, email hchamber@mainstaycomm.net.