“It really takes someone who is dedicated and a cheerleader for these rural entrepreneurs,” is how Jill Miles, Business Development Officer for the Oregon’s ED Department explained to me their entrepreneurial facilitation programs. She is the regional coordinator for the five NE OR counties, all very rural areas. I was asking her about the two projects in her area of the Sirolli Institute’s (www.sirolli.com) Entrepreneurial facilitation.
Miles explained to me that the program in Wallowa County, OR has had good success, primarily because Myron Kirkpatrick, the ex-CFO for Costco, is the coordinator. “He had a summer home in Joseph, OR and he and his wife fell in love with the area. When they retired here he wanted to give back and agreed to become the facilitator.”
Kirkpatrick has helped turn a struggling entrepreneurial microbrewery into the 6th largest brewery in the state, established an arts center and started a new foundry, among other entrepreneurial start-ups that he has assisted.
Baker City, one of my agurbs®, has had mixed results and Jill told me appears to be falling apart. I asked her what was the difference and her response didn’t surprise me, “It’s all about people. Baker City’s main driver in support of the program left town and it’s been downhill ever since.”
I’ve found that the people issue is virtually always the key driver for success or failure in the agurbs®. Those communities that can either raise/retain or recruit in leaders like Myron Kirkpatrick are the ones that are able to create new opportunities for their towns.
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