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ECIDC Members Attend Retreat at Lowe Foundation

Pictured above is Tiffany Macke, Trisha Mason, Ed Morrison, Brian Moody and Lowe Facilitator, Dino.     

On June 17-19, members of ECIDC were invited to attend the I-Open Retreat hosted by the Edward Lowe Foundation at Big Rock Valley, Michigan. Trisha Mason, ECIDC Coordinator, was joined by Tiffany Macke, Clark County U of I Extension and Clark County Development Organization, and Brian Moody, Executive Director for Tuscola Economic Development, Inc. Through the two and a half day session the team joined participants from five other regions across the United States to learn more about open source economic networks, civic leadership and collaborative efforts in Strategic Doing. These principles were taught by Ed Morrison, founder of I-Open in Cleveland, Ohio. Many group activities were sprinkled throughout the workshop and several stimulating conversations were held when transformative questions were posed. The ECIDC team hopes to take back the principles they were taught in order to implement them both in their individual communities and the region as a whole. Mr. Morrison is using the six regions present as a test group for teaching others how to lead their organizations, communities and regions to becoming stronger through building thicker networks and collaborative efforts focused on strategic outcomes.