Marketing Hometown America brings your community together to highlight what makes it special and turn that momentum into real change. These community conversations lead to fresh ideas, clear goals, and practical action plans to attract visitors and new residents—building pride, strengthening connections, and helping your hometown shine.
OBJECTIVES
Participate in Marketing Hometown America, and you will:
- Learn to market your community to new and existing residents
- Practice positive community dialogue
- Identify what newcomers are looking for in rural communities
- Rediscover local assets that attract newcomers
- Build and implement marketing action plans
- Use online media to create a positive image of your community
- Engage your community to tackle future issues
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Marketing Hometown America succeeds when community members embrace their rolls:
- Community Champions
- 1-2 people
- Encourage community participation and create a steering committee
- Steering Committee
- 5-7 people
- Oversee and guide the process
- Conversation Hosts
- 8-15 people
- Lead small-group conversations
- Conversation Participants
- 8-12 people per group
- Join conversations and develop ideas for community plans
- MHA Extension Coach
- Work with steering committee, train conversation hosts, provide materials and coordination support, and attend the launch and huddles
WHAT THE PROGRAM COVERS
Following a public launch announcement, community members engage in four conversations that lead to fresh ideas, a community vision, and action steps to create that vision.
- Session 1: What is our connection to this community?
- Session 2: How does our community stack up?
- Session 3: Why would people want to move here?
- Session 4: Action steps to promote our community
An action forum brings the community together to develop a plan. Action teams implement the plan, review its status, and revise the actions to reach their successful outcome.
The process takes five to seven months, with follow-up actions taking six to nine months.
- 4-6 weeks to create a steering committee
- 2-3 weeks to plan and implement recruitment and training
- 1 or 2 weeks after the training, the launch is held
- 1 or 2 weeks after the launch, sessions begin
- At least one week after the last session, host the action forum
- After the forum, action teams complete projects in six to nine months
$2,000 covers all materials, community training and travel costs. If several communities partner, or if a county-wide program is needed, additional conversations can be held to determine materials required and added travel costs.
*MHA is not university-directed. As residents know their towns best, this program is owned by the community, and decisions are made by community members.
Contact Us
CHERYL BURKHART-KRIESEL
RPN Extension Educator
308-632-1234
cburkhartkriesel1@unl.edu