The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
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Since its formation, the One Valley Prosperity Project was built around the notion that “Prosperity from Gunnison to Gothic” is a key project result. You can find those words on the OVPP’s website, posters, social media accounts and more.
At the center of it all is the bold idea that the valley and its residents—the land and people from the city of Gunnison to the ghost town turned research hub of Gothic—can prosper. But that word, prosper, can take on different meanings and emphasis for different people. When the word prosperity is used, what does it really mean?
“Prosperity is important on so many different levels of community life—and the definition may vary significantly from one person to another,” said Pam Montgomery, executive director of the Community Foundation of Gunnison Valley and member of the Community Builders Task Force leading the OVPP. “Widespread input from an extensive cross-section of folks is critical to defining prosperity in a way that has impact, value and a broadly understood significance to all who live, work and play in the Valley.”
Montgomery notes that the OVPP recently released community values statements identifying the qualities that are important to the community and contribute to the area’s quality of life. Yet comparing those statements to the conditions on the ground reveals tension between the two.
“We learned through the State of the Valley report that there is a paradox we face in the valley,” Montgomery said. “For example, we say we value a caring community, yet we have exceptionally high levels of poverty. How do we address our desire for inclusiveness at the same time we address existing citizens’ needs—and shouldn’t that factor into what prosperity looks like for us, and ultimately what the One Valley Prosperity Project helps address?”
Through August 10, the OVPP is conducting the Define Prosperity Campaign, which engages community members to help create a shared definition of local prosperity. The definition will be used in future planning efforts and discussions, not just by the OVPP but by elected leaders and officials.
The campaign will also result in a set of guiding principles that relate to prosperity, which will inform community visioning and action planning for the rest of the OVPP project and beyond.
Citizens are invited to participate in the Define Prosperity Campaign by sharing their definition of what prosperity means to them. All those who share their definition will be automatically entered into a random drawing for a $100 gift certificate to City Market. The winner will be announced in mid-August.
The OVPP is keeping it fun by asking participants to share their definition in under 180 characters, but the important thing is to arrive at a meaningful definition that fits the Gunnison Valley’s culture and clarifies desired outcomes for the One Valley Prosperity Project, said Russell Forrest, Gunnison County community development director and member of the Community Builders Task Force.
Forrest added that economic conditions likely factor into local definitions of prosperity.
“Certainly there is a desire to live here and potentially sacrifice a higher paying position in another location. Working and thriving in mountain communities is hard work. Good paying jobs are too scarce and job diversity appears to be limited. Defining prosperity, and the principles that emerge from it, will almost surely take this into account.”
People are encouraged to share their definition of prosperity through a variety of means:
—The OVPP’s website, www.onevalleyprosperity.org. Go to the Forum page. Go to the “Participate” tab, then click “Forum.”
—OVPP’s Facebook page. Share your definition of prosperity by writing on their wall.
—Public outreach events scheduled between now and early August. Stay tuned to the OVPP webpage and local papers for more information on location and times.
