Continuing in our non-run-of-the-mill names for Track Leaders we offer for your consideration Herk, the only one I know (we are trying to get Tim & Jeff to change their names). Herk and I formed a mutual admiration club a few years ago when I became a last minute replacement speaker for one of his events. He was pleased with my talk and I was impressed by both his passion and ability to fill the place on a Saturday. Herk and his colleagues give community development a good name in West Virginia.

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When I met Herk he was working with Family Resource Networks and I know he has worked with Habitat for Humanity. He started working with the Community Collaborative, Inc. (CCI) in 2006. With CCI, Herk has spent the last two years talking and working with all the community development stakeholders in the State to align the existing resources available to communities. From the work of this group, a model for continuously improving West Virginia communities evolved. The number of communities using the model is increasing, as is the number of resources aligning with it.  It is on its way to becoming a functioning, coordinated system for community development in West Virginia.

Herk is bringing his CCI friends, their model and his over thirteen years of professional community development experience to the Resources Track this year. Herk says, “Often we find energetic community folks with good ideas, but frustrated with obtaining results. We want the Resources Track to help them to grab that capacity.” Please welcome Herk and send him your ideas for Resource Track sessions.

–>Rob