It was a region united by the Missouri River, with two city governments, two county governments, a school board and lots of organizations all working to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in their part of central South Dakota. But until the Community Vision Coalition was started in the Chamberlain-Oacoma area, those groups were just not communicating.

“The question was how we could establish a group on a collaborative needs basis,” said local school superintendent Tim Mitchell. “Governmental and development leaders got together to form an organization to talk about that. And from those meetings arose the coalition.”

Mitchell served as chairman, a fitting role since he had first raised the idea of collaboration in a speech he made to the local Chamber of Commerce. Once the group was formed, with two representatives from each of the regional organizations and government units, they began to meet—and talk—regularly.

“The collaboration has been effective and positive,” said Mike Schreiber, Oacoma town council president. “South Dakota Rural Enterprise was very helpful, introducing us to the LeadershipPlentySD program and the Rural Governance Initiative. Both have been instrumental in taking the collaboration to the next level.”

Schreiber said that, in addition to sharing police and fire protection, the region has performed needs assessment surveys to determine other services which are needed. The group has determined that retaining young people through jobs and providing educational opportunities for young and old are vital goals for the region.

“What does a quality community need in the 21st century?” Mitchell asked. “LeadershipPlenty was part of the process that helped us look at our area. We need to provide more opportunities for high school students in careers and technology and we need continuing education for people already here.”

One of the tangible signs of success the group can point to is the construction, through community cooperation, of a convention center at Cedar Shores.

“We just needed to see that if we could come together, we could make things happen,” said Heidi Nogy, a community volunteer who worked for the local Chamber during the formation of the Community Vision Coalition. “Once we did, things happened—like the convention center. It took a lot of work to get there, but there were so many people willing to talk and work together to make it a reality.”

Chamberlain and Oacoma and the surrounding counties and communities are now in conversation to share resources, avoid duplication of services and provide for regional community-building needs. In addition to education workshops and seminars, the region is working with Kilian Community College in Sioux Falls to bring in degree programs for area residents to build job skills and career possibilities.

“So much has happened,” Nogy said, “and it all started with people being willing to work together—to sit down and talk about things.”

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