Pike County - FBC Family Life Center and Azalea Path

The April 25, 2014 Connect with Southern Indiana session was held in Pike County and began at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center. I debated putting that in the title of this post, because it's not really a destination location. However, there is not a whole lot in Pike County for us to have met elsewhere.

We began the content portion of the day with each group's 2nd presentation on their project. Our presentation went much better than last time, because we kept the opening simple. I came up with a visualization for our business model and it seemed to work well (I'll post more about that later). The other projects are also coming along well, and some of them I'm really excited about! My favorite idea, outside my own, is probably the Volunteer Olympics (will post more on each project later). Then we learned about the financials of an organization from Coach B, which was not the most interesting topic but necessary. ;)

After learning about the financial parts of an organization, we departed for Azalea Path. Azalea Path is a beautiful botanical garden located in Pike County. More information can be found at http://azaleapatharboretum.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Azalea-Path-Botanical-Garden-and-Arboretum. They are currently building a new facility that will be a great location for weddings and events. Keep your eye out for that!

A storm downed some of the trees, and instead of just having stumps they had them carved into statues!

 We also got to hear from someone from a previous Connect class that worked to create an Azalea Trail. The group was able to obtain a grant and use the money to start a trail of azaleas across several counties in S.W. Indiana. Not all projects that come out of Connect come to fruition, but there are some that after years of working are able to produce something that wouldn't have been possible without Connect with Southern Indiana!

 

Perry County - Tell City Depot and Shubael Little Pioneer Village

The Connect with Southern Indiana session on April 11, 2014 was held in Perry County. The day started at the Tell City Depot, which was revitalized and now houses the Perry County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Tell City Farmers' Market, a gift story with hand-crafted artisan works, and an event room. (for more information about Perry County: http://perrycountyindiana.org/)

There is also a really big rocking chair for taking souvenir pictures!

Each group was then asked to pitch their idea and a feasibility analysis for their idea. Our group decided to pursue and idea called BEAR (Boosting Environmental Assets Regionally). 

The problems that we discovered through the ideation process was that 

1. There is little collaboration in the Tri-state region for people interested in environmental events or services
2. The region is known to have pollution problems that take the focus away from environmental gems
3. Young adults are moving out of the region
4. Kids are not taught at a young age the issues and solutions to keeping the environment healthy. 

We want to create a website and app that will bring these resources together for people to find in a single location (Parks, events, farmers' markets, hiking, recycling, bike paths, etc.). Along with the website/app, we also want to host original events like community facelifts, litterathons, and festivals. 

After the project pitches, the coaches introduced us to the Business Model Canvas (see image below taken from fivewhys.files.wordpress.com) and explained how the parts of the canvas tie together to create a well thought out plan. After all, investors are more likely to fund a plan than an idea. 

Our task for the next session is to present a good visual of our business model canvas along with the information that we presented today. Following lunch, we then departed for the Shubael Little Pioneer Village.

Shubael Pioneer Village was founded in 2000 with the dedication of the Hinton Cabin. Three additional cabins have been added - James Fall Cabin, Adam Shoemaker Cabin, and Homer Hull Carter Cabin. In addition, the outdoor Lambert Rogier "Behive" oven and the Edgar Carter Blacksmith Shop and Forge were rebuilt to working order. A carpenter shop, sheep pen and the Troy Stone Jail have also been located on site. The Millstone One Room School has been moved and a Mercantile is presently being built. There are more cabins to be rebuilt and the Oriole Methodist Church is waiting to be relocated.

-taken from http://www.shubaellittlepioneervillage.com/ 

The village was very cool and the founder is passionate and full of information about how early settlers, like the Lincolns, lived. It was interesting to see how pioneers lived. 

We concluded the day with going to the Blue Heron Vineyard and sampling some wine. The view from the vineyard is beautiful overlooking the river. More information about Blue Heron Vineyard at http://www.blueheronvines.com/