With deep gratitude we wish to acknowledge the Director of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Kathleen Heard. Accepting the new person, especially one who expresses new-fangled ideas and one who challenges ‘the way things are done’ is never an easy task, yet Kathleen listened, considered and accepted our determination to consider all ideas. Much space is devoted to describing the AAA program and its immeasurable impact on the SEAGO Region because Kathleen made sure we were provided with the data.
We wish to thank Luke Droeger, SEAGO Transportation Planner, for embracing the notion of partnering ideas, sharing data and promoting the concept of cross pollination between departments and working committees. One of Luke’s contributions can be found in the SEAGO Region TIP posted alongside the SEAGO Region Project List.
Thanks are also due to Bonnie Williams, the SEAGO CDBG Planner and Chris Vertrees our Pathways out of Poverty Manager. This document reflects the enormous reinvestment the CDBG program has provided the SEAGO Region year after year. Chris and his team are literally changing lives through training, certification and job placement.
This CEDS document would not be possible without the cooperation and participation of the dedicated volunteer members of the SEAGO CEDS Committee, who are listed in Appendix A. Each of you have made a difference in the long term progress of our amazing region.
Along this same theme, the guidance, quality editing and critical feedback from people like Mary Dahl, Tom Reardon, Ilona Smerekanich, Alison Van Gorp and a pair of incomparably talented multi-media professionals – Gary Dillard and Margaret Dillard truly helped raise the standards and expectations of anyone who chooses to use this document as it is intended – as a resource, as an information guide and as a valuable roadmap for economic prosperity throughout the SEAGO Region.
Concluding these dedicatory remarks, please note our deep appreciation for the positive support and continual encouragement of Randy Heiss, the SEAGO Executive Director. With keen insight Randy allowed us to explore, investigate and examine all areas of SEAGO programs, what worked well and even that which was considered a failure. This document is a testimony to strong leadership, moral certitude and the impressive speed of trust.
— A’kos Kovach, SEAGO Economic Development Planner
“One term we use for far-reaching looks into the future is ‘vision;’ for visions give us more than simply a prediction of future events, they give us a target on which to aim, a path to follow.
They do more than forecast the future: they influence it, giving hope, inspiration, and guidance to those who embrace it; they look past what we can reasonably infer from our knowledge of the past and of the present.”
— Tom Moody