Community Leaders Attend Better Together Leadership Summit

Twelve community representatives from across Burt County came together for food and fellowship on Wednesday evening, September 23^rd at the new Lyons Auditorium. Burt County Economic Development sponsored the event, “Better Together Leadership Summit” as a chance for city council/village board members and their staff to get acquainted and share experiences.

Patty Plugge, Executive Director of BCEDC, welcomed the group and talked about the trends affecting rural communities. “Regionalism is vital to our rural communities.”
The mayor of Lyons, Andy Fuston, explained how the city went about the renovation of the city auditorium. He stressed the importance of having a good grant writer for your community and how helpful that was in the process. Plugge also reminded the group that the Northeast NE Development District can assist its members in grant writing.

The group had representatives from Lyons, Tekamah and Decatur at Wednesday’s meeting. They agreed to hold this type of meeting again, possibly on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. The goal is to share information and learn more about topics that can help their communities thrive. Plugge agreed to organize the meetings and will be asking for suggestions on interesting topics. All community representatives will be invited to participate.

Patty Plugge addresses those attending the leadership summit recently. Photo courtesy of Patty Plugge.

Lyons Mayor Andy Fuston discussed the renovation of the community center in Lyons with other community leaders at the summit. Photo courtesy of Patty Plugge.