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PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Peggy Linton 662.449.5002
DESOTO COUNTY GREENWAYS PROMOTED NATIONALLY
Peggy Linton, community development director for the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, spoke about civic leadership this week to the national annual meeting of the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities in Miami. She was invited to present information on the development of the DeSoto County Greenways project. She was part of a panel with representatives from the William Penn Foundation of Philadelphia, PA (along the Delaware River) and the City of Dubuque, Iowa (along the Mississippi River) to discuss public and private investments along river fronts and beyond. Increasingly, place-based, community and regional foundations are recognizing the organizing potential that rivers represent for not only achieving desired community conditions, but also demonstrating civic leadership and impacting public decisions about growth and development. “The Community Foundation was pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the DeSoto County Greenways project, the partnerships that have been formed, and the potential to expand beyond the boundaries of DeSoto County”, explained Peggy Linton. “Although our story was vastly different from those of the other two presenters who have unobstructed access to the Rivers, the presentation emphasized the historic background to the Mississippi River while placing strong emphasis on the nature tourism and health benefits of greenways.” Following a successful Mississippi River and Greenways Symposium in June 2008, the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors funded the DeSoto County Greenways Project ($150,000) as a first year commitment. The funds, allocated to the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, were used, in part, to hire a Greenways Coordinator. The work began to acquire land that would become the Greenways. On Christmas Eve 2008, the Community Foundation accepted a gift of land from the Austin brothers along Johnson Creek that will soon become the first section of the DeSoto County Greenways Project. Negotiations are underway to secure additional land along Johnson Creek and to work with the local utility companies, Entergy and DeSoto County Regional Utility Authority. Land was also donated in Marshall County that will complement the Greenways and Blueways (water trails along the Coldwater River) Project as it expands beyond county borders. The North Mississippi land Trust has been established as a non-profit organization to accept future donation of land. To learn more about the DeSoto County Greenways Project or the Land Trust go to http://www.nmslandtrust.org. The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi is a member of the River Partnership of Community Foundations, a program of The Funders’ Network. The membership of this program consists of community foundations along the Mississippi River and its tributaries beginning at the top of the Mississippi in Minnesota and ending in New Orleans. The River Partnership focuses on improving the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of communities along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The Community Foundation has been able to leverage the work and funding of the River Partnership for the Symposium, developing next steps in the project, and grants such as The Alcoa Foundation. The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national organization that exists to inspire, strengthen and expand philanthropic leadership and funders’ abilities to support organizations working to improve communities through better development decisions and growth policies. It brings together foundations, nonprofit organizations and other partners to address the range of environmental, social, and economic problems caused by development strategies that fail to consider the big picture.
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Hernando, MS
