Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charlene Perkins Cutler, Executive Director
508-234-4242
ccutler@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org
Blackstone Heritage Corridor Releases Strategic Plan for Public Comment
Whitinsville, MA (August 1, 2016) – Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc. (BHC) has developed a ten-year strategic plan and is inviting the public to review and comment on it. “A great deal of thought and discussion went into what ultimately became a very succinct list of strategies for our nonprofit organization through 2026,” Cutler explained. “It was intense work over a short period of time, but professional and effective because of the expertise of the members of the subcommittees.”
To develop the Strategic Plan, subcommittees of the BHC Board of Directors were formed to lead the work in specific areas of the BHC mission: Environment, Historical & Cultural Resources, and Economic Development & Community Revitalization. Nearly 50 people participated on those subcommittees, representing Board of Director members, partners, residents, businesses, corporations, municipalities, nonprofits, state agencies and federal agencies. Participants applied their extensive knowledge base to contemplate challenges and opportunities that BHC and the National Heritage Corridor are likely to face during the 10-year period of the plan. Each subcommittee gave birth to an overall vision for the resource category and developed a list of strategies that would achieve their vision. Those visions and strategies were then compiled into this strategic plan.
“Within the Strategic Plan document are highlighted mission-area strategies that BHC will use to develop future work plans, budgets, and funding requests,” Cutler pointed out. “BHC’s ultimate goal is to become a self-sufficient nonprofit, to be valued and sustained by the people of the Blackstone Valley, and to continue the leadership of the former Commission, providing a variety of opportunities for residents and visitors alike to preserve and promote the environmental, historical, cultural and recreational resources of the Valley for current and future generations.”
Cutler notes that when Congress established the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in 1986, a federal commission was created to operate the National Heritage Corridor. With the termination of the federal Commission in 2014, the authority and responsibility of managing the National Heritage Corridor was transferred to BHC. “The Strategic Plan,” she explains, “builds on the previous thoughtful and comprehensive planning work done previously by the Commission and provides great foundation for our next ten years.”
To review the strategic plan, visit BHC’s website (BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org). Click on “About Us” and select “Strategic Plan.” Comments should be directed to BHC’s Executive Director, Charlene Perkins Cutler, by email at ccutler@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org and should be sent by September 1, 2016.
An energetic nonprofit, the Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc. partners with organizations, local communities, businesses and residents to ensure the long term vitality of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. Learn more at BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org.
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