2021 State of the Vision Launches the Crawford:2030 Vision & Recognizes Local Award Recipients

BUCYRUS, OH — On November 11, the Crawford Partnership (Partnership) hosted its annual State of the Vision dinner at The Hub at Village Square in Crestline, OH. With community members and leaders in attendance, the Partnership Board of Directors and staff launched the Crawford: 2030 Vision strategic plan.

The Crawford: 20/20 Vision set the tone for the Partnership. It helped to establish its structure and set its priorities for the last decade. The 2030 update honors the work of all of the partners, stakeholders, investors, and community leaders who have collaborated and contributed to the success of the Partnership. Community, economic, and workforce development were the focus areas set out in the Crawford: 20/20 Vision that were affirmed through community conversations as the highest priorities for the Partnership. These are the priorities the 2030 update is built upon.  In the process of gathering community input for the 2030 update, there was a recognition that many of the challenges facing the community are interconnected, and it is hard to address one without addressing others. To be able to do this, the Partnership has adopted an organizational approach to enacting positive change rather than programmatic. In implementation, this shift organizes the work of the Partnership around improving community-level outcomes rather than focusing on maximizing the outputs of programs and initiatives.

Crawford Partnership Board President Todd Boyer welcomed guests, gave a brief history of how the Partnership has evolved from a volunteer-driven organization to a staff-driven organization and shared the process from the creation of the Crawford: 20/20 Vision to where the organization is today. Boyer recognized the 40 active investors and the tremendous debt of gratitude and appreciation our community owes them.

“I had the privilege of being at the table in 2010 when the Crawford: 20/20 Vision was drafted and became the blueprint for the Partnership and Crawford County,” said Boyer. “Now, a decade later, we can celebrate a number of accomplishments and can focus our eyes on the next horizon, 2030.”

After the launch of the Crawford: 2030 Vision, organizations and individuals were spotlighted with the following awards:

• Economic Development Award Winner: OhioHealth, presented to President Vinson M. Yates of OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital & OhioHealth Shelby Hospital and President Curt Gingrich of OhioHealth Marion General Hospital
• Community Development Award Winner: Crawford County Public Health, presented to Health Commissioner Kate Siefert and the Board of Health President Zach Wolfe
• Workforce Development Winner: Angela Neef, Crawford County Job, and Family Services
• Collaboration Award Winner: Crawford County Commissioners, Doug Weisenauer, Tim Ley, and Larry Schmidt
• CU Lead Alumni Impact Award Winner: Jennifer Allerding, Superintendent, Galion City Schools