We Never Thought We Would Fail

Brainerd Lakes Area

The issues of community life are as varied as the towns and counties defining rural Minnesota. Participants in BCLP recognize that the process of “making a difference” is about determining what the future of their communities will be rather than simply reacting to the random forces of change. It is a process of leadership requiring skillfulness that is inclusive, foresighted, collaborative, and, above all, flexible — for one-size-fits-all strategies are figments of imagination that seldom work.

A Blueprint for the Future
For years, Brainerd was known for its fractious community conflicts. No matter what the issue — zoning ordinances to city water fluoridation — residents would “choose up sides” and get ready to do battle. Then, in 1986, a small, diverse group of Brainerd residents became one of the first groups to participate in the Blandin Community Leadership Program. Alums came back with a different outlook; the experience began opening up lines of communication among stakeholders.

Since then, six cohorts from the Brainerd Lakes Area — 144 men and women — have invested their time and energy in considering how to strengthen, expand, or enrich their commitment to “making a difference” for the health of the community. While the Foundation would not make excusive claims about the achievements made in the Brainerd Lakes Area in the past two decades, BCLP alums can point to ways in which their participation has been an invaluable resource on issues and opportunities they have faced. That became very apparent when a major industry closed its doors in 2002.

When the Potlatch Company made the difficult decision to close its plant in Brainerd and lay off 600 workers, local leaders faced a crisis. Anytime an economic event of this magnitude occurs, panic would be a reasonable response. But in Brainerd, BCLP alum and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Lisa Paxton (BCLP 1998), calmly helped convene a meeting of stakeholders. “As bad as this was, it was also an opportunity. If we couldn’t replace the plant, what else could we do?”

From this initial response, the Vision 2020 Economic Vitality Task Force emerged. It would eventually create a blueprint for future economic development in the Brainerd Lakes Area. BCLP alums Lisa Paxton (BCLP 1998), Brainerd City Administrator Dan Vogt (BCLP 1992), Sheila Wasnie Haverkamp (BCLP 1992), Executive Director of the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation (BLADC), and Lucy Nesheim (BCLP 1989), Brainerd City Councilor, were members of that task force…along with Bob Hutton, Anne Hanson and Jennifer Hawkins (Region 5 Development Commission), and Jeremy Vacinek (City of Baxter).

Lisa and her colleagues recognized the need to set the immediate issue of a plant closing in a broader context that would respond to the urgencies caused by the loss of a major employer, and to consider how to diversify local employment opportunities. “As we researched the paper industry and its prognosis, we learned there was no assurance that we could replace like with like. Chances were slim that there was another paper industry in the wings waiting to fill the Potlatch space.” This insight led to a series of meetings to get people involved in thinking beyond Potlach. As Dan Vogt (BCLP 1992) noted, “We wanted to get the community imagining what other industries we could draw to the city.”

Time-Honored Linkages: Inclusion & Influence
What accounts for the relative absence of panic? Lisa pointed to relationships and the networks they created over time. “These allowed us to connect stakeholders because trust among people was a given. They recognize each other’s strengths and know from our past efforts as a community we could work in harmony on something that mattered greatly to us all.” That became especially evident as the task force began making calls to stakeholders about an initial meeting. According to Dan, “We pretty much knew we could count on getting a positive response.”

A meeting was convened with the courtesy of Cragun’s Resort. As the process of “making a difference” began, there was little anxiety among participants. As Lisa said, “We never thought we would fail. We know our assets — we have an attractive area and we have people who really care about the community.” Brainerd also benefited from having a wide range of skillful leaders who understand that each issue, whether a new opportunity or crisis, calls for the best thinking of as many people as possible.

This spirit of inclusion was operative from the start. All subsequent meetings were open to the public and included Potlatch workers and their families. The latter were leery at first, but the steering committee brought in resource people to assist families impacted by the plant closing. Just as important, the public meetings reframed the issue. It wasn’t just about economic development, but also included attention to social needs and the well-being individuals. “One of the things we did to help people see the bigger picture was bring in people from Hoyt Lakes to learn from them what they did when the mine closed,” noted Sheila Wasnie Haverkamp (BCLP 1992). Later, Brainerd would return the favor by sharing what it learned from its response to the Potlatch crisis with other Minnesota communities.

Issues Reframed, Outcomes Celebrated
As the Vision 2020 Task Force led the process to reframe economic development post-Potlatch, it accomplished some notable outcomes. It managed the panic and fear the closing produced so that community members affected directly and indirectly could envision options. It encouraged the school district to go ahead with a $60 million bond referendum for a new school even as the city council was asking for a deferral. The bond passed because voters understood that the new school represented the good of Brainerd as a whole as well as a commitment to maintaining a strong, vital infrastructure. The task force also kept Potlatch representatives involved because the company executives knew what closing a plant after 100 years of operation meant to the city.

One of the major outcomes for the Vision 2020 Task Force was putting the Potlatch facility back into operation within a year. The Wausau Paper Company now employs 155 workers with additional hiring planned for the future. At the same time, cooperative efforts continued to find jobs for and/or retrain former Potlatch workers. Members worked with the local office of the Department of Economic Security, the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (CEP) and Central Lakes College. These outcomes were possible because Vision 2020 forged linkages with key organizations like the Region Five Development Commission, produced an analysis of economic and demographic data, identified key industries, detailed infrastructure needs, outlined the organizational capacities required to create a new economic future for the region.

The Pivotal Power of Trust
By all accounts this is a success story about leadership. Credit might be given to luck or positioning, for Brainerd is in an area marked by prosperity. What the group of BCLP alums interviewed suggested, however, is that the response to and resolution of the Potlatch dilemma reflects “the leadership difference.”

“We couldn’t have done this if we had tried to build relationships when the crisis came,” noted Sheila. “Instead, we have a history of success and relationship-building we could draw on.” Lisa emphasized how attention to communication paid off from start to finish. This included getting information people needed into the network, collecting information, planning and convening well-facilitated meetings. Dan described efforts to provide local media with the best and most accurate information available as they represented the public’s interest in the work of Vision 2020. Having a BCLP alum as the editor of the local paper (Roy Miller, 1989) helped with information dissemination.

As members of the Vision 2020 Task Force continued to reflect on its success, they described the pivotal power of trust as the process unfolded. People left the meeting at Cragun’s with a deep awareness that this issue meant connecting at a new level for which trust was indispensable. Sheila underscored the role of getting all stakeholders involved and avoiding a situation in which a select few controlled the agenda. Being intentional about including all stakeholders in a community process like this means that people can think more broadly and worry less about getting to the “right answer” immediately.

A Renewed Spirit of Collaboration
As challenging as the Potlatch plant closing was for Brainerd, it produced a renewed spirit of cooperation and collaboration. The three-year economic development vision and action plan produced by Vision 2020 moved forward because people in different parts of the community, who represented a variety of interests, could think and act strategically for the sake of the common good.

Lisa added, “People trust us to be working together for the good of the community and the area of which it is a part. Cooperation comes about as we recognize that we have to partner with one another because no one of us has all the resources to go it alone.” The payoff for the community and the area is significant. Sheila recently reported that as a result of the Vision 2020 process, industry-specific action plans are nearly complete for the Brainerd Lakes Area, with implementation beginning in 2007.
Tailored plans will strengthen business development and retention efforts for the area, but more importantly, are positioned to keep the overall health of the region’s economy growing.

One of the many strategies Brainerd has developed to cultivate and sustain this spirit of cooperation is its own homegrown leadership program modeled, in part, on BCLP. Over the past seven years, over 150 people have completed the seven-month program designed to help community members learn how to position themselves and their businesses or organizations for today’s new marketplace. Known as Leadership, the Lakes Area, the program focuses on what leaders need to know and value, the skills for leading effectively, and knowledge about the unique Lakes Area community and business systems. That program strengthens the capacity of Brainerd/Baxter to face the future with the same confidence the Vision 2020 Task Force had four years ago — the confidence that enables community leaders to say, “We never thought we would fail.”

“It’s Gotta Be the Water!” The Brainerd Lakes Area boasts almost 500 sand-bottom lakes within a 20-mile radius, nestled in the heart of scenic forests. The natural beauty of the area has made it a vacation destination for tourists and seasonal residents alike.