As we close out 2019, and the final year of Letchworth Gateway Village’s pilot phase, I wanted to take an opportunity to share some of the key highlights from 2019 and reflect on what we’ve achieved over the past three years as we embark on our next chapter. Most of all I want to thank my advisory team, our investors and growing network of partners for believing in this collaboration and for having the chutzpah to try something different. I couldn’t have asked for better companions on this adventure. Here’s to what’s next in 2020!
2019 Highlights
LGV Advisory Team signs MoU - July, 2019
LGV Partners Sign Formal MoU Agreement
Perhaps our biggest and least publicized accomplishment from 2019 was the creation of a formal cooperative agreement between each participating LGV municipality and community partner group. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was an important first step in formalizing the collaboration, articulating our values and spelling out exactly how each partner contributes to the initiative. The agreement, which emerged from the strategic planning and community branding process undertaken in 2018, is based on principles of Geotourism (sustainability) and is evolutionary by design, meaning it provides an adaptive framework to accommodate new communities, partners, funders and leadership as the collaboration expands and evolves beyond our three communities. A special thanks to former LGV advisory team member, Jim Whitehead who helped us structure the agreement and got us to this critical next step.
LGV Selected for Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) Initiative
In early 2019 LGV was invited by the USDA’s Innovation Center to apply for a new program called REDI - the Rural Economic Development Innovation Initiative. REDI’s purpose is to promote rural innovation, in particular collaborative solutions to multi-jurisdictional challenges and funding barriers. LGV submitted an application along with 38 co-applicants from five counties in the Genesee Valley and received one of the highest scoring proposals in the U.S. On October 4, 2019 LGV and nearly 80 stakeholders, formally kicked off the 18-month regional planning effort to develop the Genesee Valley Region as an outdoor recreation hub. To learn more or join up, visit: www.letchworthgatewayvillages.org/redi-usda.
2019 projects
Rural Retreat, Terroir Symposium 2019
Growing Food Tourism in the Genesee Valley Region
In response to visitor survey data gathered in 2017, LGV partnered with the Culinary Tourism Alliance, one of the world's leading experts in food tourism development, to explore how our region can combine our strengths in agriculture with travel and hospitality to drive new market opportunities in our region. Through this process the Culinary Tourism Alliance conducted a food tourism assessment to evaluate opportunities and challenges for growing food tourism locally. Key learnings from the assessment were shared at the October 2019 Forum, Celebrating our Taste of Place, which gathered 70 food industry stakeholders from six counties. Other tools produced during this process include a White Paper on the Role of Food Tourism in the Development of Rural Destinations as well as a storytelling toolkit for restaurants and other food and beverage purveyors on marketing our taste of place. To receive a copy of the assessment contact: director@letchworthgatewayvillages.org, to learn more about the Growing Food Tourism project visit: www.letchworthgatewayvillages.org/growfoodtourism
Digital Main Street Platform
Digital Transformation Initiative
As part of LGV’s efforts to help businesses improve their online visibility, LGV has partnered with Digital Main Street (DMS), an innovative online learning platform specifically designed for small businesses and start-ups aspiring to go digital. Digital Main Street was developed by Toronto’s Association for Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) in partnership with Google, Shopify, MasterCard and other private sector partners. LGV will be Digital Main Street’s first U.S. partner, and through our licensing agreement, will be able to scale our current digital coaching model developed through the Adopt-a-Business program with DMS’ built in tools and resources, including a personalized digital assessment that evaluates the business’ current state of digital readiness and creates a step-by-step roadmap with recommendations on how to grow and manage their operations through technology. LGV will be piloting Digital Main Street in Perry, Mount Morris and Geneseo starting in 2020.
Explore Genesee Valley Digital Map Guide goes LIVE!
In November, Letchworth Gateway Villages officially launched its Genesee Valley Map Guide - www.exploregeneseevalley.com. The map guide project is the result of over a year of community branding workshops and one-on-one training sessions to teach businesses, organizations and community members how to identify and map the experiences, stories and attractions that tell our unique story of place. While the map guide provides a new tool to promote the Genesee Valley, more importantly it provides a platform for collaborative marketing across municipal boundaries and a vehicle to build businesses’ and organizations’ capacity to market online. Learn more about the project at www.exploregeneseevalley.com or sign up to become a map guide contributor!
Staff and Advisory Team Changes
Mary Rutigliano Joins LGV’s Advisory Team
This year LGV said goodbye to one of its founding advisory team members, Jim Whitehead, who served as the representative to Promote Geneseo! Jim was integral to getting the initiative off the ground and providing strategic guidance on structuring our MoU and early partner engagement. Taking his place is Mary Rutigliano who has been closely involved with LGV through her role on the Geneseo Village Board and Promote Geneseo!, and who brings an important regional and rural perspective to our advisory team through her work at Literacy West.
Nina Piccini, Digital Engagement Manager
LGV is Growing!
In October, LGV welcomed its first full-time staff member, Nina Piccini who serves as our Digital Engagement Manager. In this role Nina oversees the Genesee Valley Digital Map Guide project (ExploreGeneseeValley.com) and provides one-on-one coaching and digital training to businesses. Additionally LGV has been growing our local “gig economy” with our team of freelance writers who support content for the Genesee Valley Map Guide Project and LGV’s Rural Development Solutions blog. Learn more about our team here.
Nicole Manapol, Director
Director Moves to Part-time in January 2020
In 2020 I will remain LGV’s Director but will be transitioning to part-time to take on a new full-time position at SUNY Geneseo focused on community and economic development. This shift reflects the changing needs of the initiative now that the foundation has been laid and the projects we’ve incubated, like the Genesee Valley Map Guide, require different types of expertise to get them to the next level. I will continue to coordinate the REDI planning effort and oversee LGV’s various projects and grants, however day-to-day operations will shift to other members of our team.
Looking Ahead in 2020
REDI October 4th Kick-off Workshop at the Humphrey Nature Center, Letchworth State Park
In 2020 LGV is inviting new members to join the initiative. The grant cycle for 2020 - 2021 funding will kick off in February so if you are a town or village interested in getting involved, please contact me at director@letchworthgatewayvillages.org or a member of our Advisory Team. Resolutions committing matching funds will need to be drafted and approved by March 2020.
The REDI Planning Process
Our next in-person workshop will be held on Friday, February 7th at the Palmer Opera House in Cuba, New York. To register go to Eventbrite. If you are not currently involved in REDI but would like to, please contact me at director@letchworthgatewayvillages.org.
Winter Training Series
This Winter LGV will be kicking off a training series in partnership with Livingston County Economic Development to help businesses improve their customers’ experiences both online and off. Topics to include photography, managing your online presence, and creating memorable customer experiences both online and in-store. Check our Facebook Page for dates and schedule (coming soon!)
Celebrating the Wins
As we close out 2019 we also close out Letchworth Gateway Village’s three year pilot phase. In looking back at the goals established at the onset of this experiment it’s truly remarkable to see all that we’ve achieved together. Here are some of the highlights:
Revival of a regional identity (the Genesee Valley) and development of a platform (ExploreGeneseeValley.com) that encourages collaboration and strengthens regional assets across municipal boundaries.
Improved visibility for the region’s unique attractions and businesses through digital coaching and training support via Adopt-a-Business and Grow with Google. Through these partnerships, LGV has served over 200 businesses in 11 communities in Livingston County and 4 communities in Wyoming County. In 2017 only 40% of 270 tourism-related businesses were verified on Google in Perry, Mount Morris and Geneseo. In 2019 that percentage has risen to 72%, meaning more visitors are able to find our businesses when searching online and, most importantly, more of our businesses understand why digital matters.
Catalyzed a five-county collaborative planning process through the REDI initiative that will help the Genesee Valley develop its potential as an outdoor recreation hub through new partnerships, resources and investment.
Generated $496,582 in new public-private resources that none of our communities could have generated on their own. These resources have allowed partner municipalities to expand their capacity to experiment and try new things in ways they could not with their existing budgets.
Built a culture of collaboration. Most significantly we’ve built a culture of collaboration that has enabled a mindset shift away from focusing solely on our individual communities to seeing ourselves as part of a broader regional identity. For me, this is the most important thing we’ve achieved. Why? Because no matter what, this is the thing that endures and it’s the thing that will open up new opportunity and resources for years to come.
So cheers to abundance! And cheers to going further together!
Happy New Year!
Rural development hubs
Last month the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group released Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure, a groundbreaking report that showcases the work of organizations creating positive change in rural America. The report focuses on the emergence of a new type of intermediary taking on the complex challenges of transformative, systemic change in rural areas - Rural Development Hubs. Rural Development Hubs “do development differently” by thinking and acting regionally and bridging issues and silos. The study found that these hubs are a critical entry point for national and regional funders and policy makers to engage with rural America. This is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the context in which efforts like Letchworth Gateway Villages and the Genesee Valley REDI initiative are emerging.