Life as a VISTA by Evan
Evan Williams
Project Site: Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments
Job description: Basically, I act as the coordinator for the Adventure Gallup and Beyond (AG&B) Steering Committee, which oversees the adventure tourism initiative. My main mission involves maintaining linkages and correspondence with the cooperative agencies. I assist the project by providing certain services to add capacity; such as grant writing, capital outlay requests, federal legislative requests, and state legislative requests. I also assist with the management of key aspects of the project; including hospitality, land application, marketing, enterprise development and several others that are vital to the success of the overall economic initiative.
Primary Daily Tasks: Grant writing, scripting legislative requests, providing administrative responsibilities to the Steering Committee, and maintaining ties with other agencies.
*Example of current assignment:
What I foresee for next year’s VISTA?
The Council of Governments is in the process of hiring an associate planner to fulfill the AG&B planning responsibilities. Presently, I have serviced these responsibilities through my VISTA work plan.
Next year, I believe that a VISTA will be assigned to work closely with the Community Development Corporation (CDC), a sister organization spawned from the Council of Governments, which has received a grant to assist the development of small businesses, with a concentration on potential AG&B associated enterprises. The CDC is involved in creating a business cooperative, Adventure Gallup, Inc., which will act as an enterprise incubator for “adventure” businesses (i.e. identified possibilities: horseback outfitters, cultural tour guides, bed and breakfasts, bike repair shops, etc.).
The major tasks of a VISTA working with the CDC would be to assist Adventure Gallup Inc.: by recruiting entrepreneurs, assisting with financial literacy of entrepreneurs, helping with an Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) program, and adding capacity to CDC that would enable the Adventure Gallup and Beyond initiative as a whole to become successful as an economic driver. There would also be some crossover responsibilities in conjunction with the new planner at the Council of Governments, as they relate to the overall project development.
Hometown: Somerville, New Jersey
Site Supervisor: Executive Director Patricia Lundstrom
(I am beginning to work in
conjunction with other key partners
to develop
a business incubator
namely the BOOST, Business Ownership Opportunities in Support of Tourism, Incubator.)
Words of Wisdom:
"Gallup-McKinley County has an untapped potential that is on the verge of explosion. We as VISTA volunteers just need to cause a small spark."
To contact EVAN: EMAIL ME
