Revitalizing the Delta

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with a group called the Crossroads Coalition. This is a group of folks from a 10 county area in eastern Arkansas, bent on improving the overall quality of life for that region. Strong focus on economic development, and education. I was thoroughly impressed by the commitment this group shows, and very encouraged. Many of the small towns in this region are feeling the cumulative effects of increasing mechanization of agricultural production, and the loss of manufacturing jobs to off-shore operations. Unless efforts are made to upgrade workforce training, and provide more employment opportunities in the region, there will be a continuation of the drain of people resources to other regions that offer more opportunity.