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Mon River Valley Coalition Monongahela River Town Program Make Strides Towards Five-Year Goals

Thirteen communities from the Mon River Valley, along with three tourist promotion agencies, three planning organizations, two universities and a number of state, county and local officials comprise the Mon River Valley Coalition.

Led by Cathy McCollom, the River Town Program Director, and Donna Holdorf, Executive Director of the National Road Heritage Corridor, the Mon River Valley Coalition has just completed its second full year of work on a five-year plan adopted in September 2013 and has successfully addressed all of the plan's action items.

In 2011, the River Town Program began along the Monongahela River, offering three years of professional staff capacity to lead Mon River communities in the revitalization effort, supported by Pittsburgh based foundations. Led by McCollom, community leaders assessed existing conditions and articulated opportunities to gain economic growth through the communities' access to the river. Action agendas were outlined, resources were sought, and projects implemented. The momentum from these first years engaged the interest of many regional leaders and partners.

Seeing the strength in working towards a common goal, the Coalition was formed, with McCollom and Holdorf as the leads and spokeswomen for the group, and a five-year plan - Capturing the Opportunities in the Mon River Valley - was drafted and adopted.

"The River Town Program and the Coalition have the same goal - to work collaboratively," stated McCollom. "We never go into a community and tell them what they need to do, how and when. Being responsive to the needs of a community - its representatives and leaders - they are the ones who guide and dictate the goals and projects that the program then helps them carry forward."

The Coalition meets quarterly on the CAL U campus and, throughout the past two years, has received consistent support from all three Washington County Commissioners. It is largely due to their support and attendance at Coalition meetings that significant funding has been obtained. "The Foundations that support the River Town Program and the Coalition want to see that the local folks have 'skin in the game,'" commented McCollom.”

Capitalizing on this momentum, the Coalition leadership will gather in early November to chart a course for the next five years. "We will follow the same outline we used when the coalition first formed," stated Donna Holdorf. "Each community in the coalition will have the opportunity to list its goals and priorities."

Holdorf continued, citing that to date, over $2,000,000 has been secured to support and achieve the original five-year action plan activities. In addition to the launches being constructed and the riverfront plan, currently underway is work with the PA Signing Trust to install wayfinding signs identifying key visitor river assets in the Mon Valley. Also, the first Mon River Valley Entrepreneurial Business Plan Contest is underway. The project will award three $10,000 grants to the successful business plans to help them open a business in one of the current Mon River towns. McCollom and Holdorf are also currently talking to outfitters regarding the opening of kayak/canoe rentals.

"The Mon River Town Program and the Mon River Valley Coalition are a great example of what can happen when a region comes together for a common goal," said Holdorf. For more information, contact Donna Holdorf at 724-437-9877 or donnah@nationalroadpa.org and Cathy McCollom at 814-521-3520 or csm@mccollomds.com.

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