What would it take for you to dedicate a sunny Saturday in mid-May to training and education, with a dash of networking? You may not be alone if you are thinking, “over my dead lawnmower”. If by any chance you are curious to know how others answered this question, you could query any of the nearly 50 community leaders who traveled and spent a Saturday with CDI and ROC USA at a networking and educational gathering in lovely Kingston, Massachusetts. Hosted by one of our most recent additions to the ROC USA Network of resident-owned communities, Town and Country Cooperative Corporation, residents from nine Massachusetts communities came together to learn and to share.
In addition to networking with peers, attendees were able to dive into workshops focusing on technology (remote collaboration and an intro to email and excel) and those presented by professionals in the water and insurance industries. We were joined by representatives from Mass Rural Water and Bob Capenos with Haylor, Fryer and Coon. Attendees learned about the programs offered by Mass Rural Water to communities, including leak detection, technical assistance and training. Other attendees took a tour of a ROC insurance policy, presented by Bob Capenos, and had their questions answered by an expert in the insurance industry.
The biggest “Aha!” moment for many residents was not the program or workshops, but what emerged from the table discussions with other community members. Commenting that the “mutual concerns” of all communities seem so similar, members connected on their shared successes and committed to problem-solving around their shared frustrations.
CDI and ROC USA offer workshops and regional gatherings throughout the year, and will continue to bring educational and networking opportunities to ROC members. If you would like to know what opportunities for ongoing training and networking exist, please contact your TA provider, or Maureen Carroll at mcarroll@cdi.coop or 413-665-1271 (ext. 16).