Three volunteers from the Riverton Peace Mission will travel to Missoula, Montana, next month to attend a Small Town Summit sponsored by the United Today, Stronger Tomorrow organization.
“This opportunity comes at a good time for the RPM as we seek to expand community engagement in our endeavors,” local organizers said in a press release. “We are addressing community safety concerns for Tribal people in border towns of the Wind River Indian Reservation and want to increase the involvement of those most affected.”
‘Claim their place’
More than 200 rural community leaders from Wyoming and nationwide – particularly those from “primarily conservative states” – will gather for the event June 4-7 “to claim their place in the national conversation,” according to a press release from United Today, Stronger Tomorrow.
“(They will) strengthen and build capacity for important efforts in 2023 and beyond: ensuring billions of dollars are used for our communities’ needs and priorities (and) ensuring our energy transition improves the lives of everyone in rural America and leaves no community behind, and strengthens American Democracy,” the press release states.
“The Small Town Summit is an opportunity to start building towards solutions. (Those) in attendance will focus on strategizing and co-learning sessions with the goal of immediately building skills and relationships amongst participants, but also identifying collective opportunities for continued work and collaboration beyond June.”
The summit is the result of a nine-month consultatory process including hundreds of surveys and pre-summit conversations with small town and rural community leaders, according to the press release.
“That process determined that a convening is needed to write a new rulebook for community engagement and working to improve the lives of rural and small town community members,” the press release states.
“Participants agree that the time is now, and community leaders are ready to take on the challenge of winning concrete improvements in their members’ lives, while lifting up small town and rural communities in the national dialogue to inform the direction our country takes over the coming years.”