Rural communities continue to grapple with the issue of how to harness technology and telecommunications for the good of the community, especially for economic good. While some might argue that there is no clear cut answer to how to achieve this good, it is clear that a direction works, produces results, and is immediately available to any rural community. The mistake is believing that there is no answer, or that a better answer will come along!

For more than five years now we have struggled with the issue of how to remake rural communities so that they are more economically viable, less dependent on troubled industries, and more open to taking advantage of opportunities being created by the worldwide economy. That led us to develop the Pratt Telecommunity Center, to help form the Garden City Information Technologies Cooperative, to plan for the El Dorado Future Technology Cooperative, and to plan and develop the Pioneer Virtual Health System. All of these developments and models are based on a specific premise - acquisition of technology and telecommunications is the direct result of "creating" active demand for those technologies. Most important, until such time that our target technology is acquired, there are many aspects of the community that need to be addressed to insure that these technologies will be used correctly and that, even with the bare minimum of technology and expertise, a rural community can become an active user. It is this "becoming an active user" that ultimately leads to acquire those technologies that will give the opportunity to further remake our rural economies.

A community committed to the future is not waiting for an answer from a State, academia or a technology company. Instead, that community is understanding the needed makeup of a community, assessing the opportunities of eCommerce, eHealth, eGovernment, Web Broadcasting, eEducation, and forming the community leaders and vision to put a plan in action. That same community is ready to begin taking those immediate steps that are necessary to begin causing the needed change.

It is the creation of the immediate capability and understanding that is the focus of the eSeries Seminar on eCommunities/eEconomic Development. While we'll spend some time talking about theory based on examples, we'll spend most of our time in discussion, analyzing tools we can use, and developing that strategy that will lead to an immediate outcome. You'll quickly learn in this seminar, that most change will be related to action, and your action is based on a commonsense strategy that has been around for years, just no one seems to want to use it.

• An understanding of how your community can be the next community to successfully have access to needed technology.
• Knowing more about the Internet and the potential of the Internet.
• Capable of assessing the community's strengths and weaknesses in an appropriate technology based infrastructure.
• A strategy to take your community from where it is now, to a community building needed infrastructure, creating interest and awareness, and enhancing it's opportunities.
• Able to select the resources needed to support this new eCommunity/eEconomic Development.
• Tools to assess the opportunities for change within your community.
• Practice at creating Internet based applications that create demand for technology and telecommunications. This created demand ultimately results in the enhancement of infrastructure.
• Knowledge of several models that can be followed to reduce the risk associated with your eCommunity/eEconomic Development efforts.
• At least three immediate steps to take back to your community that if followed will begin the process of creating change.
• An understanding of some of those new buzz words, like eCommerce, eHealth, eGovernment, B2B, Web Broadcasting, and most important, understanding them so that your return to your community helps cause those who are impacted by these uses to become active in their development.

Who should attend?:

• Individuals responsible for creating change and opportunity within their community.
• Economic Development leaders.
• Community leaders interested in exploring how these technologies can be harnessed for the good of the community.
• Technology professionals who work with rural communities and would like a strategy that moves the members of a community to users of technology.

Program Faculty

Greg Smith is President of Rural Health Futures, Inc. and the Pratt Telecommunity Center, Inc. Greg has been in the technology field for more than twenty-five years and has extensive experience in technology application development. His computer knowledge, experiences in the health care and economic development fields, and familiarities with rural issues have created many unique opportunities for rural communities. Greg has spent several years developing technology capabilities and knowledge in areas that include community portals, Telemedicine, health information systems, eHealth, web broadcasting and many more areas that impact and empower rural communities

For more information about Greg Smith click here >>>

Find out what others have said about the Center’s efforts by clicking here >>>

America Online Foundation on the efforts of the Pratt Telecommunity center >>>

Costs

This seminar will be held at the Pratt Telecommunity Center located at 109 E. Third St. in Pratt, Kansas on Sept 13th beginning at 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. A 30 minute lunch break is included so that participants can sample Pratt’s interesting downtown area. Cost for the seminar is $150.00. Class size is limited to ensure that each participant has an adequate opportunity for exploring the technology. Seminar costs include refreshments to be served during morning and afternoon breaks. To register you can call (316) 672-5995 or register online by clicking on the link: register now! For available lodging check the Pratt community web site at www.prattkan.com.