'Rural Vital Signs'

OTHELLO — Rural Development Initiatives Inc. will be delivering a Rural Community Leadership Program to Othello funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge. The hybrid in-person and online program will begin Oct. 12 and end April 11.

RDI Bilingual Program Training Associate Ada Márquez Acevedo explained the basics of the program.

“This program is developed using grant money,” Acevedo said. “The focus of this program is to develop local leaders in rural communities. So we do that through six sessions. In between those sessions, we have some check-ins and some one-on-one mentorships, and we also have a project that's associated with the class.”

According to a statement from RDI, the leadership program is presented by Elevate Othello, which is a coalition of partners including the city of Othello, Adams County, local organizations, community members, the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development and RDI, who are facilitating the coalition.

Elevate Othello received funding from the USDA Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge for improving community vitality and fostering economic growth, according to the city of Othello website.

The leadership program will consist of a cohort of 25 to 35 registered participants. It is free and includes meals, materials and assistance with childcare.

“Basically, the class provides you tools to get to know yourself, to get to know others and to get to know your community,” Acevedo said. “We're hoping that by allowing people to get to know themselves, others and the community, they can then form social capital, and once they acquire social capital and have identified priorities within the community after they do some fieldwork… that's where the project comes in. As a group, they work together to talk about how they can support ongoing efforts that are going on in your community.”

Acevedo said the cohort will have funds to disperse to the community as grants as part of the project, which will also include volunteer work at community organizations and agencies.

“We have a series of 16 priority areas called Rural Vital Signs, that’s what our tool is called,” Acevedo said. “Using that tool (the cohort gets) to do some fieldwork in their community and map out what is going well, what could be better and what organizations are doing the work.”

The first session will be held at Othello City Hall on Oct. 12. Acevedo said they like to switch up the venue for other sessions as another way to familiarize program participants with the community and spaces available in it.

“Once the project gets going, we leave it up to them how they want to meet, because they have to kind of spearhead the project,” Acevedo said. “We just have some virtual check-ins…to give that one-on-one mentorship and if they have any questions, and we can provide any other resources to make their life better.”

City of Othello Community Development Director Anne Henning said the city is excited RDI is delivering the program in Othello.

“One of the concerns we heard at the recent ice cream social/community visioning event is that it’s time for a new generation of leaders,” Henning said in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “We all know and respect the people who have been organizing and supporting community activities over the years, but many of them are getting older and won’t be around forever. If we want community events and organizations to continue, new people have to start taking on the leadership of these community activities and interests.”

According to RDI’s website, the program is open for anyone who wants to expand their skills, become more connected with the Othello community and make a difference in that community.

“Leadership comes naturally to a few people, but most people can learn how to be more effective leaders and community members,” Henning said in the email. “This training will build skills and connections to help community members grow in their leadership abilities and community connectedness.”

Acevedo said they will keep in contact with program participants after the program in order to find mentors for subsequent cohorts.

“We're trying to do more than one cohort in Othello,” Acevedo said.

Class size is limited and requires registration. The program will be delivered in English with support for Spanish speakers. To register and for more information, visit bit.ly/RDIprogram.

Session Dates:

Each session will go from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Oct.12
• Nov. 2
• Nov. 30
• Jan. 11
• Feb. 15
• April 11

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.