Year End Round Up!

It’s hard to believe another year is about to leave us behind!

After the odd year we had in 2020, 2021 threw us a number of surprises as well as opportunities.  While I might not have been as active as I liked or as successful as I had set myself out to be, I was very happy with some of the personal and professional milestones that I was able to achieve.

I got to work with some great communities, including Kirksville, Missouri on a strategic plan.  I was the keynote speaker at the NEMO Regional Planning Council in Missouri too.  (Filling in for the Missouri Lieutenant Governor no less!).  And I continued to work with non-profits and communities to identify needs and secure grant funding for their initiatives.

But I think the professional goal that I accomplished was the one that I didn’t see coming when the year started.  I teamed up with a colleague of mine, Sarah Thompson from Rural Revitalization, and we were able to start producing some content for our YouTube channel: Destination Diaries.

The channel is a way for the two of us to showcase our goofy humor, but also help promote Iowa communities and businesses.  There are so many hidden gems in our state, that most people who have lived here their whole lives don’t know they exist!

We were only able to film, edit, and post two in the closing months of this year, but we have continued to film and are looking forward to an active 2022.  I am hopeful that we will continue to promote this awareness and spread some good cheer the whole year round.

I hope you have your goals ready for the new year and I will see you on the other side!