Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Joel Baxley announced on Thursday the selection of 47 rural communities and regions that will receive technical assistance to help create and implement long-term economic development plans.
The United States Department of Agriculture is providing the assistance through an initiative called Rural Economic Development Innovation. Each of the 47 communities and regions will be paired with one of four partner organizations that will provide free technical assistance for up to two years to help rural towns and regions create and implement economic development plans. USDA awarded $1.2 million in cooperative agreements to these partners in September 2018. The agreements will help the partners finance the free technical assistance.
McClure Engineering Company, in partnership with CO.STARTERS, will work with the Summit County Chamber of Commerce’s Summit Prosperity Initiative. The assistance is meant to help to create jobs and identify alternative solutions to traditional child and health care services, along with supporting infrastructure improvements, business development, housing and community facilities. For more information, visit http://www.rd.usda.gov.