Suring "Bridge to Tomorrow" takes Top Rural Development Initiative honors at Leadership Summit

WRP President Kathy Schmitt presents award to Carol Heise, Village of Suring, and Connie & Tim Friesen, Arts Vitally Enrich Community

Wisconsin Rapids - Wisconsin Rural Partners, Inc. awarded the Top Rural Development Initiatives for 2004 on April 19 at a 5:30 p.m. recognition ceremony at The Mead Hotel. The awards were presented by Wisconsin Rural Partners president Kathy Schmitt at a reception held in conjunction with the second annual Wisconsin Community Leadership Summit, which WRP co-hosted with the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

In addition to recognizing the top initiatives at a networking reception for Wisconsin's community leaders, participants heard guest speaker Heath Dickinson, U.S. Army Trainer, describe the "Transcendant Leadership Paradigm." Award winners were able to network with more than 160 community leaders attending the summit.

This is the fifth year that Wisconsin Rural Partners has recognized Wisconsin's Top Rural Development Initiatives. The program is designed to identify, highlight, and share innovative models, practices and programs that have a positive impact on rural Wisconsin communities.

With two ties for second and fifth place, respectively, the top seven ranked initiatives for 2004 are:

1. Suring Bridge to Tomorrow
2. Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club of the Juneau County Economic Development Corporation
2. Rural Development Guidelines & Policy Manual of the Rock River Coalition (Watertown)
3. The Washington Center in New London
4. Rural-NorthEast Wisconsin (R-NEW) House Project of Crivitz and Wabeno School Districts
5. CranberryLink© Visitor Center by Glacial Lakes Cranberries, Inc. (Wisconsin Rapids)
5. Organic Valley's Green Design Headquarters in La Farge

The top-ranking Suring Bridge to Tomorrow is a community beautification project that was planned and implemented by Suring school students with the assistance from a host of local organizations and AVEC (Arts Vitally Enrich Community). The initiative is a community gathering place with many recreational and cultural features that all started with an effort to save a failing 1930s bridge.

For summary descriptions of the 2004 Top Rural Development Initiatives, click here. [PDF file]

For contact information for the award recipients, click here. [PDF file]

See our Top RDIs page for publications of past years' Top Rural Development Initiatives.