"It's about Partnerships, Man, the Partnerships" Mon-Dak Partners and Williston State College Have “Teamed Up” to “Tackle” RCCI Initiatives

Introductions Jennie Granrud Joe McCann

Partnerships A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specific goal: Example in a Newspaper Story: “Community Groups Partner in Healthy Williston, Healthy Youth Project”

Who and Where We Are Williston State College is a public community college in northwest North Dakota 990 credit students - fall of 2005 Work force training served 170 employers in ’04 - ’05, training 1700 employees 34% Academic Transfer and 47% Career/Technical Mon-Dak region of 13 counties with 55,000 people

Who and Where We Are Work Force training area of 10 counties Economic sectors - Agriculture, Oil, Tourism Less that four people per square mile 11 Institution North Dakota University System Governed by the State Board of Higher Education North Dakota has a population of a medium sized city (with long streets) ’99-’00 Legislative Roundtable on Higher Ed and WSC became a Autonomous Community College

“Building Our Region, One Dream at a Time” NeighBORs Neighbors Building Our Region “Building Our Region, One Dream at a Time”

NeighBORS Areas of Work Oilfield Training Value-Added Agriculture Entrepreneurship (including tourism) Quality of Life Out-migration of Youth Rural Development Center

NeighBORs Partners Education Petroleum Production Agriculture Government Business Private Industry Non-Profit Organizations WSC

Partnerships Petroleum Production Originally safety training NeighBORS subgroup of extended team in fall of 2003 A few more “oil patch” partners joined in summer and fall 2004 joined 2005 mini-boom in oil well drilling intensifies

Partnerships Petroleum Production Over $2,000,000 being invested in WSC Petroleum Safety and Technology Center by nine companies, Star Fund, WSC Foundation, and the ND Legislature’s Centers of Excellence for Economic Development Oil well training site under construction, truck driver training, oil field fire fighting Now have 23 company partners 500 “oil patch” employees were trained in 2005

Partnerships Agriculture Mon-Dak region produces pulse crops, irrigation, export, food production (over 25 crops produced) Value-Added AG partnership forming –NDSU, and NDSU/ MSU, joint ag research center, Economic Developers, Federal ARS Revitalizing credit Ag program Hiring a farm and ranch management faculty member Currently planning a Center of Excellence application

Partnerships Education Great Western Ed Consortium 15 school districts in 5 counties Minot Tech Center Joint Dakota Nursing program with three other CCs cover ND “Border to Border” Four other joint programs Seeking resources for regional career counseling Distance ed high school electronics program

Partnerships Entrepreneurship Online entrepreneurship Expanding K-14 career pathway SBDC – most productive office in North Dakota Plan to collaborate with Dickinson State University

Partnership Out Migration of Youth/ Quality of Life Little Teton Daycare Increased role as a cultural focus for the Mon-Dak region Youth Forum Williston Area Chamber of Commerce now has a student member from WSC and Williston High School

Partnerships Out Migration of Youth/ Quality of Life Healthy Williston Healthy Youth WSC bookstore coffee shop Increased role as a cultural focus for the Mon-Dak region Youth Forum

Lessons from the Canada Goose

Lessons Learned Appreciative Inquiry Champion Emergence Rural Youth Forum Input Power of Partnerships Partnership Building and Nurturing Drucker “the social dimension is the survival dimension”

Questions What U.S. state did the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery spend the most time in? What U.S. state is the top durum producing state? In what state did Meriwether Lewis get shot in the posterior?

Questions What is the only state that has a state government-owned bank? In what state did the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery encounter the most grizzly bears?

Summary Q & A

Thank You www.wsc.nodak.edu/RCCI jennie.granrud@wsc.nodak.edu joe.mccann@wsc.nodak.edu