December 1 Update

Just a bit over two weeks until our December meeting and things are really popping! We have just over seventy folks now who have asked to be members of our listserv. Over the last week, this web site has been visited by over three hundred folks. The buzz about our movement is palpable. So, this post is about things we need to ponder before we meet.

Name/Logo Issue. By far the most popular post on the blog is the one about our logo. There seems to be a consensus for the logo on the upper left position but many would like to see it altered by placing the recycling arrows inside the little rooftop. I hope David is reading this and will give us something like that to review. Another bone of contention is the tag line and the lack of reference to Barren County in our chosen name. I have an idea that might address these issues. How about developing a number of tag lines that can be used depending on the application for the logo. Some have suggested the tag line might be altered to say Fueling Glasgow's Economy With Barren County's Bounty. I like that just fine and it really says it all about what we are about. Bounty does not just mean foodstuffs, it can refer to our talent, our resources, or our businesses, as well as our agricultural products. Another way to embrace the totality of the county would be to use something like www.barrencountybounty.com for our URL. Further, if other tag lines are developed with "Barren County" in them, we could always use a tag line with the logo that embraces the fact that we are about a sustainable economy for the region, not just for the benefit of the residents of the 42141 zip code.

Legal Stuff. By the next meeting we should have a state approved corporation, but then we need to immediately get to work on By Laws, the structural underpinnings of our movement, which will lead to decisions about a Board, Officers, dues structure, etc. Be thinking about you ideas for foundation beliefs of our movement.

Funding. Its not a lot, but the EPB did approve my proposal to provide some seed funding to get SG moving so long as TVA approves SG as a real economic development entity for our community. I don't think that will be a problem and, so long as they approve, they will match the EPB's contribution, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000. So, we have that going for us as well as our plan to start signing up members and asking for a modest annual membership fee.

Interns. I have my eye on a couple of recent graduates, one with a degree in marketing and one with a degree in both History and Political Science. One is Haley Crow and the other is my daughter, Lauren. We just moved them back to Glasgow after a two year stint in Charleston, SC. They don't plan to stay with us in Glasgow for long, but while they are here it would be nice if they would do a few things for us like: set us up with a P.O. box, phone number, URL, email addresses, Facebook site, checking account, real website, finalized logo - stationary - marketing pieces - apparel items, a filing system, a good start on our goal of a database of local producers and some information about each of them, etc. You know, just dozens of tasks that we now need to become a viable and operational entity. If you come across either of these potential "community organizers" please encourage them to get us going while they search for their dream careers in Nashville.

Things we all can be doing right now. Make time to watch the recent Bill Moyers Journal mentioned by William Travis in his post here. In one hour you can get a fantastic understanding of the power of creating a sustainable local food economy.
Support our fledgling new local restaurants in Glasgow. For example, if you have not yet been to the Sunday brunch at The Station, you have missed one of the finest brunches available anywhere. Now all we need to do is to convince them to buy from local producers and to promote that on their menu!
Pay attention to money that is leaking out of our local economy and help plug the holes. A great example of this is the recent decision by WBKO to charge local cable operators for access to their television programming. This decision will take an additional $160,000 out of Glasgow's economy over the next three years. WBKO management, and those who pay WBKO for advertising, should hear from us about this attack on our economy!
Pay attention to the calendar. While spring planting season certainly seems far away right now, it will be here very soon and we want to have a year-round retail facility for local producers, we want to convince local producers to convert some of their crops and animal operations to local production and retail to utilize that facility, and we want to be ready to weigh in on local government budgets as necessary to help promote the investments necessary to support a sustainable local food economy.