Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford is speaking this morning at the Pine Bluff Business Expo. The theme of the event is “Focus on Community,” and Dean Rutherford will be discussing the Clinton School field service work, community philanthropy and why outcomes and results are important for community building.
UPDATE: The Pine Bluff Commercial covered Dean Rutherford’s speech:
PINE BLUFF — Communities, no matter the differing assets they posses or challenges they face, all have one thing in common: They have to help themselves, says Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.
Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service, addresses the Biz Expo breakfast Thursday morning at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
He hammered that point home at the Business Expo 2010 small business breakfast, in what he characterized as frank but friendly advice.
“You can’t just sit back and expect someone else to fix it,” Rutherford said. “If you want to community-build, the best way to community-build is jobs. Put people to work. Give them a chance. And the second best way to community-build is to continue to invest in higher education.”
Rutherford cited Pine Bluff’s failed 2009 campaign to attract a Knowledge Is Power Program school. The school ultimately went to Blytheville, a town where community spirit is alive and well, and its leaders are making the most of it, Rutherford said.
“You need, next time, to pass your economic development tax,” Rutherford said, referring to a failed 2008 attempt to pass a Jefferson County economic development sales tax. “It’s not going to fall out of the sky.”
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