“The idea is the people who come and listen to presentations will try to do that exact same thing,” she said. “It's if they hear enough things and they talk to enough people, you can start to build this nebulous success model.” Breakout sessions last year covered a wide range of ways to engage and benefit small communities, including how to write successful grants, coaching and leading in a small town, marketing to
your community, using the arts to build community, creating art councils, and much more. Around 16 local businesses participated to host the breakout sessions. “The speakers, whether they are the keynote or breakout sessions, are experts on their rural communities,” said Schlechter. “They are people who live, work, and volunteer in the communities, and are able to share their stories.”
The conference focuses on perspectives from small towns, aiding in relatability and relevance to the communities they’re speaking to, Harders adds. “Last year our keynote speaker was Michael Perry , who wrote Population: 485 . It was about how he moved back to his small community. As a writer, he had free time, so he joined the local fire department, volunteered, and did things to give back to the community,” said Harders.
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