Mount Vernon conference gives local leaders tools to build up community

MOUNT VERNON - To help those in your community you need to know what residents are saying, said Don Stanley, marketing strategist and University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member, to a room of community leaders and organizations from Eastern Iowa and several other states.

That conversation has rapidly shifted online through numerous social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. He noted during his presentation the 1.32 billion Facebook accounts - compared to 150 million accounts in 2009 - and the fact 92 percent of people in the United States report that they have their phone within arm's reach all day every day.

'If you want to reach out to communities, build networks and identify people who might be in crisis and start to build connections with people ... you cannot ignore this,” he said.

Stanley joined several other speakers during the first annual Community Resilience Institute National Conference.

The Community Resilience Institute began in 2011 as a Mount Vernon project to respond to community crises. CEO Mollie Marti said soon after other communities inquired about the project's post-crisis response and resilience tools, it morphed into a non-profit that helps unite community leaders, health and non-profit organizations to build stronger communities.

Educators, school administrators and staff, medical professionals, community leaders and non-profits made up the 70 conference attendees.

'We wanted to deliver cutting edge research and specific tools that they can use every day in building communities and youth,” Marti said of the conference.

Stanley said knowing what is going on in the community and connecting with residents online is key to not only improving community service but growing an organization's presence.

'Just monitor social network: who are those people at risk and where are those resources we can steer toward them? People aren't only consuming (online) content. They're producing it,” he said, listing off Twitter chats, Google alerts and Facebook as ways to see what's going on.

He said it's also important to reach out to not only those who might need services, but collaborate with other organizations to generate ideas.

For Tracy Tritle, the session immediately generated ideas for ways she can get more connected to her community online.

'There are gaps. I'm not on Twitter and I just made a pledge to myself to have my 18-year-old set it up on my phone and show me how to use it. He's always on it,” said Tritle, director of the Community Alliance Initiative and collaborator with the Community Resilience Institute.

The two-day conference also included discussions about leadership, post-crisis recovery, collaboration, emotional empowerment and networking. Marti said she's thrilled with the turnout of the conference, which is set to become an annual event.

'I think this is creating a new community of folks,” Tritle said. 'Some folks are already connected but its connecting them in a different way. I know half of the people in this room, but this is a different way to connect with them.”

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