Tioga County was designated a Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) zone in 1999 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and through the efforts of Congressman Maurice Hinchey. This designation, one of only 5 in the United States, is a pilot initiative of the USDA awarded to areas that suffered a major economic downturn in the years just prior to the designation.
The primary purpose of the REAP program was to identify a means of affecting economic and social change in a declining rural economy. After a Memorandum of Understanding was executed between Tioga County and USDA, a REAP Steering Committee, comprised of individuals representing a cross-section of the county, not-for-profit organizations, government, and county agencies, was created to oversee the program and development of a Strategic Plan. The strategic planning process was facilitated by Thoma Associates with a small grant from USDA. Input for the plan was obtained during the course of several meetings held in each of the 15 towns and villages where residents came together to discuss issues and concerns related to their own communities and the county at large. The resulting REAP Strategic Plan identified goals and projects, with benchmarks established to measure progress. Each community representative on the Steering Committee was assigned oversight of a certain number of benchmarks. * Within two years, REAP established a Board of Directors with several members of the original Steering Committee becoming Board members.
In 2002, The REAP Board of Directors hired its first Executive Director. “Re-visioning” meetings were held in the county’s municipalities in order for the Director to receive input regarding the progress of the original Strategic Plan Benchmarks. * These meetings were an opportunity to re-emphasize the grassroots/bottom-up approach to community and economic development that is the foundation upon which REAP is built, and to identify which of the original projects had been completed, was still being implemented, or was inactive. The residents also identified new projects that were important to their community. In some instances these new projects were added to the original benchmark list. The REAP Board of Directors participated in an updated strategic planning process in 2004-- designed to help the Board assess and adjust its work priorities-- facilitated by Chris Nill, a consultant with RCAP Solutions.*
Currently, REAP carries out its mission with financial and in-kind support from the nine town governments, Tioga County government, Cornell Cooperative Extension/ Tioga County, and Federal grants. This support has allowed REAP to continue its capacity building programming throughout the county by offering trainings, networking, and technical assistance. Community projects have been planned and implemented with the guidance and technical expertise of the REAP Executive Director and many dedicated volunteers. To date, REAP has helped bring in over 20 million dollars in community development investment.
*The original 1999 REAP Strategic Plan, the Re-Visioning Report of January 2003, the 2004 Strategic Plan, and 2006 Annual Report are available in their entirety from the REAP Office.
|
