The Rural Leader Defined Karen Pittman
tops out at twenty-five. Some are ties in rural areas often have many What is a rural leader? More to demands but little funding. Unless volunteer fire and rescue workers. the point, who is a rural leader? A rural leader can be characterized in these rural counties and communi- Some are people who continue ties have good representation in the devote their time to contacting many different ways. The bottom line is that a rural leader is a person state and United States legislatures, their legislators in an effort to improve their communities and the funding is often difficult to obtain. who excels in improving the wel Elected officials are important, surrounding areas. Some are the fare of the people in a rural area. but the truth of the matter is that people who show up at events in This improvement can take many volunteers account for many rural an effort to support a community’s shapes and forms. Many rural efforts to survive and be noticed. leaders. Quite frankly, many of leaders do not realize the importance of their roles; As a rule, these leaders don’t get named in state or Some are people who see many rural leaders just regional publications. They are often not recognized a renovation need and do what comes natuby their local chambers or leadership organizations. volunteer to raise money. Some are people who rally to them. It doesn’t matter to them. The act of doing, the spend time improving the The focus is often act of improving the lives of the citizens in an landscape at the entrances on the politicians who area is more important to the rural leader of a community to make represent rural areas than the recognition of others. certain that the best possiUnited States senators ble view is presented. The and representatives as list of rural leaders is endless. well as state officials. County com- these people may not even real Rural leaders not only try to missioners, school board members, ize they are rural leaders. These improve the welfare of the people county officers as well as those em- people see a need in their commuin an area, they also try to promote ployed by the county have to figure nity, and they try to fill that need. that area. Rural leaders believe in out, day by day, how to best serve Those leaders can occupy many people. They believe that people their constituents with a small, usu- roles. Some are church members in churches where the membership deserve the best services that can ally limited tax base. Municipali18 RuralLeaderMagazine.com
