About Us
Purpose

The purpose of the organization is to:
  • Create a forum whereby the many diverse interests in Carroll County can come together to shape a shared vision for the county.
  • Dialogue about critical issues facing the future of the county.
  • Motivate emerging leaders of all ages to drive a positive change and inspire community spirit and pride.
  • Build unity across Carroll County and create a network of knowledgeable, committed leaders whose purpose is the betterment of Carroll County.

Background

Carroll County Focus on the Future, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was formed in the spring of 2007 as a result of a community visioning program in the fall of 2004 called, “Carroll County at the Crossroads.” Approximately 220 residents from across the county participated in at least one of the 3 Community forums, which were sponsored by the Carroll County Community Foundation. The outcome of this process was the establishment of 6 taskforces charged with developing strategies and action plans to address important county issues. These taskforces were: Economic Development, Infrastructure, Diversity, Education, Tourism, and Leadership Development.

Board Members
 
Janet Ayres, President
Al Jackson, Vice President
Al Auffart, Secretary
Susan Scholl, Treasurer
Ann Brown
Lynn Corson
Bret Hanaway
Dan McCain
Joe O’Donnell
Beverly Seese
Laura Walls
Accomplishments

Through the hard work of many volunteers and grants from the Carroll County Community Foundation and Carroll County REMC Round-Up, several achievements have resulted from this strategic planning effort. Formation of Carroll County Focus on the Future, Inc., a county-wide, non-profit organization to build collaborative efforts in the county
  • Establishment of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, now with over 190 members.
  • Full-time director of the Carroll County Economic Development Corporation.
  • Establishment of Leadership Carroll County, now with four classes of 109 graduates. Focus on the Future serves as the umbrella organization for this program.
  • Formation of Friends of Carroll County Parks in 2008.
  • Initiation of “Marketing Carroll County” with speakers Dick Heupel and Bob St. Clair, in spring 2007. Over 60 people participated. This session led to the county marketing study sponsored by other organizations.
  • Support of county tourism activities including the development of a brochure, signs and other projects. Tourism is now under the county Chamber of Commerce.
  • Support of Historic Resources forums to bring together individuals and organizations with interests in the county’s historic resources. Two forums were held starting in the fall 2007 and attended by over 60 people.
  • Initiated a community forum titled, “Community Connections” to bring people together to celebrate the positive efforts underway in the county during a time of low morale and negative talk regarding county budget issues in April 2008. Fifteen towns and organizations spoke about positive projects. The session was attended by over 70 people in Flora.
  • The collaborative, visioning model was used by the City of Delphi and Town of Burlington in 2007 and 2008 to identify critical issues, engage more people in the process, and undertake actions.
  • The collaborative model was used by the Carroll County Area Plan Commission to up-date the county’s comprehensive land use plan in 2008.

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