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A
group of twelve rural health and development specialists
from the United Kingdom recently spent a week at Mountain
Empire Older Citizens, Inc. learning about the programs and
services offered by MEOC and to examine MEOC’s success as a
community led service organization.
The
twelve visitors represented the Rural Action Research
Program (RARP) Service Provision Partners, a group of rural
health and human services practitioners funded by The
Carnegie Institute United Kingdom. Included among the group
were four researchers on rural issues associated with
Carnegie and a staff person from Carnegie. The visitors
represented the countries of Scotland, England and Northern
Ireland.
The purpose of the project was
to create an exchange and learning opportunity between the
commissioned RARP Partners and MEOC. Another goal of the
project was to generate workable ideas and strategic
responses for improving community-led rural service
provision in the UK and Northern Ireland.
MEOC was selected by Carnegie
to participate in this exchange for a number of reasons.
According to Dr. Sarah Skerratt, a consultant with RARP on
Community-led Rural Service Provision, MEOC’s achievements
in a remote, rural area of Appalachia and MEOC’s record of
keeping on mission, were factors. Additionally, Skerratt
noted that MEOC has a desire to share openly their stories
and experiences, to reflect on where they have succeeded and
to evaluate where they can improve their provision.
The visitors also had an
opportunity to see many places of local interest, in
addition to their learning and exchanging sessions at the
MEOC facility. The group visited the John Fox Jr. House for
lunch, the Carter Fold, the Ralph Stanley Museum and the
MountainRose Vineyard. The group toured Natural Tunnel State
Park and was treated to an evening of stories and music by
Ron Short. They enjoyed lunch at the Derby United Methodist
Church and had an opportunity to talk with a retired Union
coal miner. One evening they were entertained at the Lay’s
Building in Coeburn by the young, talented Bluegrass group
the Midnight Ramblers and the Center Stage Cloggers while
another evening MEOC Advisory Council member Ethel Daniels
hosted them for dinner at her home in Norton.
Following several days of
workshops within the individual MEOC departments, the groups
gathered together in the MEOC conference room for a
round-table discussion facilitated by Bruce Behringer,
Assistant Vice President and Executive Director Office of
Rural and Community Health and Community Partnerships at
East Tennessee State University. Wise County Administrator
Skip Skinner also joined the discussion as a follow-up to
his address to the group on their first day in th2 region.
The group thoroughly enjoyed
their visit to rural Southwest Virginia as is evidenced in
the following comments written by Dr. Skerratt.
During
the week beginning the 13th October, the Rural Action
Research Program (RARP) Service Provision partners with
consultants, Sarah Skerratt, Philomena De Lima, Trevor
Charrett and Rural Co-ordinator, Kirsty Tait embarked on a
study trip to Virginia in America. This trip was hosted by
Mountain Empire Older Citizens Inc (MEOC),
which
is recognized as being one of the most successful and
innovative social enterprises in the US. MEOC was organized
in 1974 and is designated as the area agency on aging and
public transit provider for Wise, Lee and Scott counties and
city of Norton in the southwestern tip of Virginia in the
mountains of Central Appalachia. In addition, MEOC directs
Healthy Families For Southwest Virginia, The Mountain Laurel
Cancer Resource and Support Center, and The Southwest
Virginia Children’s Advocacy Center. MEOC also provides
management services to The Junction Center For Independent
Living Services.
Marilyn Maxwell (Executive
Director) and her team organized an inspiring and
informative visit for the Carnegie partners. The aim of this
trip was to create a targeted exchange and learning
opportunity for the partners. A series of workshops,
discussions and separately themed visits were organized over
the three days which allowed for this exchange and learning.
The experience was further enriched by the hospitality shown
by the hosts. A program of visits, meals, events and tours
were organized for the partners which allowed them to get a
sense of the place- the landscape, heritage and culture of
the area they were in. Bluegrass/ Mountain music and clog
dancing evenings, visits to the local state parks and folk
museums and samples of ‘mountain food’ and the local wine
all contributed to make the visit truly memorable.
As
a result of this exchange a strong bond has been forged
between MEOC and the Service Provision partners, which will
continue in an ongoing exchange of ideas and practice.
Through this visit the RARP partners were able to identify
additional possibilities and gain criteria for assessing
their own progress and improving the development of their
own provision.
Dr.
Skerrat first visited MEOC two years ago as part of
The International Rural Network Conference, held in the
United States (in Abingdon) for the first time. This meeting at MEOC led to an invitation to
MEOC Executive
Director Marilyn Pace Maxwell from The Carnegie Institute
United
Kingdom to
visit The United Kingdom to discuss MEOC as a community led
service organization and to help launch Carnegie’s new Rural
Action Research Program with potential grant recipients.
The
groundwork was laid on that visit for a return visit to MEOC
for those organizations receiving Carnegie funding and for
researchers associated with Carnegie’s RARP initiative.
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