MAPPING the Future of Effingham County

Effingham County has enlisted the help of the MAPPING The Future of Your Community program through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University to take a proactive approach to planning for community and economic development.

Originally planned for early 2020, the MAPPING program is a participant driven strategic visioning and planning process whereby local leaders and citizen volunteers create a long-range vision for the future of Effingham County and a plan of action for achieving it.

A series of five, three-hour sessions, involving community members will be held to discuss the questions:

•Where are we now?

•Where do we want to be?

•How are we going to get there?

•How do we make it happen?

•How do we make it happen and maintain the momentum?

During the course of these five planning sessions, participants will identify three to six high priority goals for the community, an action plan for implementation, and a break into groups to begin work on their goals and projects. After the conclusion of the MAPPING program, participants will organize a community wide town meeting to share their ideas and projects with the community and invite local participation.

Session dates are as follows: (dinner will be provided from 5:00pm-6:00pm)

September 9, 2021: 6:00-9:00 pm

September 16, 2021: 6:00-9:00 pm

September 30, 2021: 6:00-9:00 pm

October 7, 2021: 6:00-9:00 pm

October 14, 2021: 6:00-9:00 pm

A MAPPING Steering Committee was formed to look for interested volunteers to participate in these five visioning sessions as well as attain sponsors with a vested interest in the future of Effingham County. The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce and the Effingham Regional Growth Alliance are partnering with other community organizations to bring this program to Effingham County. Any interested community members are encouraged to participate in the MAPPING program and/or help by becoming a sponsor. Monetary donations are greatly appreciated at any level to help support this effort.

For more information, please contact Lucinda Hart, Chamber President & CEO, at lhart@effinghamcountychamber.com or (217) 342-4147, or Mr. Courtney Yockey, Effingham Regional Growth Alliance President, at cyockey@groweffinghamcountyil.com or (217) 342-4214. To sign up to participate in the sessions, please contact Jamie Niemerg at jniemerg@effinghamcountychamber.com or call the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce at (217) 342- 4147.