Vision 2010: A Ten
Year Plan (excerpts)
B. Overall Challenges In the Context of
Mission:
1. To be an adaptive organization that accomplishes its
mission in an environment that is constantly changing
2. To be a reflective organization that constantly
reevaluates itself to clearly echo the cares and concerns of the 35 communities
within the National Heritage Corridor
3. To be an organization that can prioritize projects
that make the best use of resources that will always be limited in comparison
to need.
C. Overall Goal:
To accomplish the mission of
our National Heritage Corridor by perceiving and reflecting the priorities of
residents and translating these into programs and services for the next ten
years and beyond.
1.
Board Development
In
projecting the corporation’s needs with respect to its Board of Directors for
the
next
ten years, certain assumptions are operative:
A. That the geographical scope of the corporation will
remain as is, with twenty-six towns in Connecticut and nine in Massachusetts;
B. That the funding will increase to the $1,000,000 per
year authorized by Congress, and remain at at least that level for the entire
duration; and
C. That the mission of the corporation will not change
significantly.
Within
those assumptions, the present arrangement of fifteen directors, including two
appointed by the respective governors, four who serve ex officio as
officers of the corporation, and past chairmen serving ex-officio for one
three-year term (pending bylaw changes) is sufficient and appropriate. The
Board must periodically assess the effectiveness of its meetings, and the
adequacy of Board membership, committee work and communications.
The
corporation’s work should be carried on through committees of the Board. Each committee would have at least one
director as a member, to serve as a conduit for communication between that
committee and the Board as a whole.
Because QSHC has diverse constituencies, the committee structure must
constantly be evaluated to reflect the interest of those constituencies. The Board itself is the instrument for
reconciling the priorities of the various committees. Committee work would also be a potential area for recruitment for
board members.
The
ideal qualities of a member of the board include sharing the corporate vision,
ability to deal with the complexity of the corporation’s and the Corridor’s
mission, and willingness to contribute the substantial time that it takes to
make this board productive. An understanding of the character of the Last Green
Valley and a clear commitment to the mission of the corporation are equally
important. As the corporation develops
greater fund raising efforts in order to anticipate a life beyond the federally
funded years, board members are be expected to have some ability as
fund-raisers and promoters of the corporation to the community at large.
We
also expect that the Board will maintain both geographical and interest group
diversity. In addition and for many
reasons, representation on the Board by at least one resident of each of the
four demographic centers (Norwich, Windham-Mansfield, Putnam-Killingly, and
Sturbridge-Webster) is imperative.
2.
Membership Development
A. Goals:
membership dues and annual support;
3. Development of an active and loyal constituency base
of advocates and supporters for QSHC.
B. Awareness Campaign:
1. Mail special newsletter once each year with general
information on QSHC to all constituents in the Corridor, highlighting
activities and including membership information;
2. Develop a QSHC traveling booth and place it at as many
events/venues as possible each year. A
team of trained volunteers will be needed to accomplish this, with the support
and direction of the staff. This could
be expanded to include floats and banners for town events and parades;
3. Develop a video program on the work of QSHC for cable
access in the Corridor;
4. Continue aggressive print media campaign in all
Corridor markets;
5. Make efficient use of 21st-century
technology, such as web sites and on-line communications.
C.
Membership Solicitation:
1. Communicate the benefits of membership consistently
and clearly in all membership materials.
Those benefits presently include:
a. The knowledge that membership fees are supporting a
worthy cause that has direct and positive impact on the quality of life for
residents in the Corridor;
b. The Millennium Membership program that allows QSHC
members discounts and other incentives at regional businesses and attractions;
c. QSHC Newsletter twice a year, as well as other
publications;
d. Discount on QSHC products, such as the Songs of the Heritage Corridor CD.
2.
Mail a special
invitation to join QSHC to all residents of the Corridor once each year.
3.
Funding
A.
Assumptions:
1. In order to accomplish the mission of the National
Heritage Corridor over the next ten years and beyond, QSHC needs a minimum of $1 million annually in resources.
2. There are now eighteen National Heritage Areas
designated by Congress and many more waiting in the wings for designation. It is reasonable to assume that federal
resources from the traditional program may decrease and/or disappear during the
period of reauthorization. Congress has
reauthorized our National Heritage Corridor for funding through the year
2010. At this point it is unknown
whether a second reauthorization will be possible at the end of that term.
B.
Goals:
1. QSHC will conduct a fundraising feasibility study to
determine capacity and then establish a fundraising plan in accordance with
policies established by the Board of Directors.
2. Based on the assumptions and the overall objective to
carry the mission of the Corridor well past ten years into the future, QSHC
needs to raise an endowment to generate an appropriate annual income.
3. Funds will be sought from project partners, annual
fundraising, grants and other sources.
4. QSHC will consistently operate in a fiscally
responsible manner and provide all necessary audits and financial reports in a
timely fashion.
1. Fund
Allocation
a. The process for
fund allocation and programming is the annual budget process that begins
in the standing committees and ends with a vote of the membership at annual
meeting.
b. Funds are allocated on the following basis:
1. Project merit and consistency with the mission,
management plan and subsequent planning documents;
2. Likelihood of successful completion;
3. Potential for greatest impact on the 35 communities
of the National Heritage Corridor in its entirety.
4. Selection of projects based on specific, published
program criteria, partnership building and applicant matches of resources, as
well as (for grants) recommendations of an impartial selection committee.
2. Restricted
Funds:
Any
funds that are restricted (such as funds from state government sources that can
only be used in that state) are subject to a 15% charge by QSHC for
administration and audit.
A.
Goal: To provide adequate, effective and
knowledgeable staff to manage,
control and plan the
projects and programs for the National Heritage
Corridor.
B.
Objectives:
1. Maintain a high percentage of expenditures allocated
to programming (per FY99 audit, 91% of all expenditures including salaries and
overhead go directly into programming);
2. Expand existing staff in a logical and programmatic
way;
3. Compensate staff at a competitive rate of pay and
benefits;
4. Provide suitable equipment and work space.
A. Goals:
1. The mission and programs of the Quinebaug-Shetucket
Heritage Corridor will be presented to resident and visitor audiences in a
professional and engaging manner to inspire action by various partners to
achieve the goals of the National Heritage Corridor;
2. Partnerships will be developed on all levels
(federal, state, regional, local) and with all types of entities (public and
private);
3. Membership will be sustained and expanded to ensure
continued grassroots participation;
4. Educational initiatives will be developed to help
residents understand and support the National Heritage Corridor.
B. Objectives:
1. Develop and sustain regular methods of communication
with audiences through newsletter, brochures, web sites and other public relations
activities;
2. Develop an active and aggressive membership program
to perpetuate grassroots support of the mission;
3. Develop an active volunteer program to enlist the
audience in outreach and programming efforts;
4. Develop event(s) such as Walking Weekend to promote
the significant assets of the Corridor to the audience, such as those that
promote ethnic and cultural heritage or increased appreciation of the rivers;
5. Develop event(s) to promote pride in The Last Green
Valley;
6. Identify and maintain data systems for contacts in
federal, state, and local government agencies and develop regular methods for
communication and networking between and with those contacts;
7. Develop methods of providing information and
education on a variety of issues through partnerships with educational
institutions;
8. Sustain and improve the Partnership Program at
appropriately funded level for outreach to smaller organizations, municipal
boards, committees, commissions and schools;
9. Develop a display to be used at various functions
both inside and outside the Corridor to communicate its mission, goals and
programs;
10. Develop and distribute permanent QSHC signs for
partners who have completed visible projects;
11. Promote the Corridor through programs using logo
recognition (patches, shirts, etc.), “proudly grown” or “proudly made” in
labeling, and web page access. Motivate
others to think “National Heritage Corridor.”
A. Goal: Economic vitality will build both
on the region’s past and future
possibilities.
B.
Objectives:
1.
Promote
the image of “The Last Green Valley;”
2.
Enhance
the visual appearance of communities through “Main Street” and other available
programs;
3.
Develop
public-private partnerships on a regional and local basis;
4.
Encourage
in-scale shops and cottage industries;
5.
Encourage
the reuse, as feasible, of old industrial structures with their dominant visual
and psychological impact within communities;
6.
Encourage
well-planned industrial parks, involving inter-town cooperation where
appropriate;
7.
Encourage
enterprise corridor zones to foster compatible economic growth;
8.
Encourage
a sustainable agricultural and forest products economy.
Tourism
A. Goal: Cultivate tourism
as a fundamental part of the Corridor’s future
economic development.
B. Objectives:
1.
Enhance
the region’s tourism potential, capitalizing on its proximity to population
centers and largely unspoiled countryside;
2.
Maintain
a close working relationship with all regional tourism districts;
3.
Develop
and improve tourism attractions, events and accommodations consistent with the
character of the Corridor;
4.
Develop
linkages between attractions within the region and especially with major
attractions in neighboring regions;
5.
Develop
and enhance the heritage infrastructure such as visitor services, signs, etc.;
6.
Participate
in the region’s tourism implementation plans;
7.
Encourage
the development of agri-tourism;
8.
Encourage
the promotion of fine arts, crafts and performing arts as tourist attractions;
9.
Encourage
the maintenance and improvement of state and local park systems;
10.
Encourage
the improvement and protection of trail-based recreational opportunities and
linkages. A special emphasis should be
placed on rail trails, the Blue Blaze Trails and other trails that provide
inter-town linkages.
3.
Historic and Cultural Resources
A.
Goals:
1. Identify, preserve, celebrate and promote historic
and cultural assets.
2. Develop and communicate to a wide, multi-generational
audience of visitors and residents the significant regional stories of the
National Heritage Corridor.
1. Develop staffed visitor centers at gateways to the
Corridor;
2. Provide assistance to local museums and historic
sites/areas to expand and improve their role in the Corridor’s interpretive
program;
3. Produce a unified graphic system to develop a
Corridor image and link Corridor attractions, and implement the placement of
signs;
4. Develop tours within the Corridor;
5. Encourage education institutions in the Corridor and
others to portray and interpret the Corridor’s historic and cultural
significance;
6. Encourage the development of school curricula about
the history and culture of the Corridor;
7. Encourage sound stewardship of historic and cultural
assets through education;
8. Develop and implement an Interpretive Plan for the
Corridor.
A. Goal: Land
use measures that preserve significant natural, cultural, historical, and
scenic resources as well as enable appropriate economic development
opportunities that will maintain the distinctive character of the region.
B.
Objectives:
1. Cooperate with partners to identify land use data
necessary to prioritize and plan;
2. Encourage the implementation of village districts
and/or historic districts as a vehicle to protect traditional New England
villages;
3. Encourage and support the adaptive reuse of historic
industrial structures;
4. Promote and support the preservation of historically
significant structures and sites;
5. Protect scenic resources, including but not limited
to scenic byways, view sheds and ridgelines;
6. Encourage the design of roads compatible with their
surroundings;
7. Encourage and support main street revitalization;
8. Protect and enhance river corridors and promote
greenway development;
9. Encourage towns to protect forest and farm land;
10. Encourage contextual design for new commercial and
industrial development;
11. Promote creative alternative development techniques
that protect natural resources and preserve open space.
B.
Objectives:
1. Support sustainable use of renewable natural
resources;
2. Support private landowners, towns and land trusts in
their efforts to protect river corridors, farm land and forest land;
3. Encourage sound stewardship of land through
innovative education programs;
4. Encourage the conservation, protection and
reintroduction of endangered, threatened or locally significant species and
habitats;
5. Encourage nonpoint source pollution abatement through
programs with appropriate partners;
6. Promote natural resource based tourism;
7. Encourage regional planning to protect shared natural
resources;
8. Encourage and support the establishment of
multipurpose greenways, trail linkages and unfragmented open spaces;
9. Promote and support educational programs that
contribute to the understanding of the value of our natural resources;
10. Support existing and new programs that reduce
property tax burdens on privately owned farm land, forests, and open spaces;
11. Encourage towns to participate in natural resource
based planning;
12. Assist the towns with integrating resources
inventories and open space plans in relationship to municipal plans of
conservation and development.
A. Goal: Sustain an environmentally sound and economically
viable agricultural
industry.
B. Objectives:
1. Support educational programs that will assist farming
enterprises in becoming both environmentally sound and economically viable;
2. Encourage diversified enterprises and alternative
market approaches in the agricultural industry;
3. Support existing and new programs that reduce
property tax burdens on farms, forests, and open spaces;
4. Support farmland preservation programs as a means to
maintain a viable agricultural land base;
5. Encourage the retention of agricultural land use
through creative development techniques;
6. Encourage cooperative marketing possibilities and
local markets for agriculture;
7. Encourage regional planning to protect shared
agricultural resources;
8. Promote regional agricultural events that develop an
awareness of the role of agriculture in the Corridor.
A. Goal: Promote, improve and expand outdoor
recreational opportunities.
B. Objectives:
1. Promote active land acquisition programs, emphasizing
key inholdings in existing management areas and access to streams and water
bodies;
2. Encourage the use of natural resource based passive
recreation which builds on a conservation ethic;
3. Develop and improve outdoor recreational facilities
with regional and local partners;
4. Encourage the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts
to maintain, improve, expand and develop state parks and forests, and to
provide grants-in-aid to municipalities for recreational use;
5. Improve the recreational suitability of the region’s
waterways;
6. Develop,
improve and protect trail-based recreational opportunities and linkages. A special emphasis should be placed on the
former historical rail bed trails, the Blue Blazed Trails, and other trails
that provide inter-town linkages;
7. Promote awareness of recreational opportunities;
8. Encourage access to waterways;
9. Encourage sound stewardship of the land through
education;
10. Celebrate and encourage the role of the private
landowner in providing recreational opportunities.