Tom spent a little time walking us through the equation and how he and his co-author Mike Breininger arrived at it. The end product, C, stands for Community Change. Tom and Mike believe the most reliable way to bring about community change is by engaging the community’s Desire (D), Vision (V), and Power (P) in meaningful ways. By fostering a Desire to bring about Community Change and providing a clear, actionable Vision for that change, communities can use their Power (relationships plus action) to overcome Resistance (R).

The book breaks the expression’s elements down and examines them in the context of each community organizer’s story. For example, Jeff Yost’s Vision for Red Cloud, Nebraska is laid out in his story, “My Hometown has Reimagined Its Future.” In the story, Jeff recounts his high school graduation gift: a luggage set. He laments the message this sends, relating it to a rural sentiment we know all too well in Iron County—that the young move away and don’t return unless they’ve somehow “failed” elsewhere, as if life in the small town you grew up in is some kind of punishment. Jeff spent some time understanding the issues, which were mostly economic, and began communicating his vision for Red Cloud, ultimately rallying enough support to begin making meaningful change. The solution utilized an overlooked asset in Red Cloud, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels of Willa Cather, which are set there and have a notable real-world presence in town (not to mention an avid visitor base). Jeff had the Desire for change, and once the Vision was clarified, he was able to activate groups and individuals in Red Cloud to overcome Resistance.

Locally, Will Andresen’s story, titled “Such is the Skull of a Finlander”, provides background on a small cast of local movers/shakers/weirdos who dreamed of honoring our past, present, and future with a 165-acre living monument we now call Miners Memorial Heritage Park. The cast includes Rick Semo, Ivan Hellen, and Larry Peterson and tells of the resistance from multiple groups throughout the development of Miners Park. Spoiler alert: there’s a happy ending and valuable lessons learned.

It was a great event, with a room full of participants eager to learn and discuss their own vision for the community. To purchase a copy of the book, head over to https://www.pulling-together.com/. The Extension office also has several copies available for checkout—stop in to sign one out!

And a huge THANK YOU goes out to Tom Mosgaller, Jeff Yost, and Will Andresen for visiting and sharing their time with us. We look forward to keeping in touch and seeing where the Pulling Together framework can take us!