Greene County Development Corporation is looking to start a new position as a way to keep driving forward the initiative to bring in people of different cultures.

For the past couple of months, GCDC has been investigating the idea of creating a multi-cultural resource center and having an individual be the director. GCDC President Sid Jones told the membership board in their February meeting that while Carlos Arguello is continuing to help prepare some of the businesses in the county to have a smooth transition of whenever new Latino employees are hired as part of the Neuva Vida en Greene County initiative, he explained why this new direction would also help the county’s needs.

“Carlos said, ‘You know what really makes a project really move from a community standpoint is when you have somebody who has that local responsibility.’ And it’s kind of to me it’s the boots on the ground that you can make a lot of plans, we can have visions, we can do those things, but who really pushes that forward and who has the responsibility of doing that.”       

Storm Lake resident Sara Huddleston brought this idea to GCDC following her visit for a panel discussion last year at Wild Rose Casino and Resort to talk about how Storm Lake saw its transition to a larger Latino population. Jones said they are in negotiations with her about the job description and salary to bring her here as the director. 

GCDC Executive Director Ken Paxton said at the most recent GCDC Board meeting earlier in March that a proposal is being created to present to several governmental and organizational entities, including funding contributions from GCDC, the City of Jefferson, Greene County Board of Supervisors, the Greene County School District and other businesses. 

The proposal will also include office locations for the director, both downtown and within the school district. Paxton added that they have also applied for a State US Department of Agriculture grant to fund the first year of the new program, should it start later this summer.