Creating space for land and people to care for each other

Farming has become even more exciting the past month.  It wasn’t a spiral of silence initiated from my blog, but rather a lack time to write for the blog…when I was writing a proposal.

Yes, it's true.  Last week, Glen and I delivered our Centene Farm Proposal and it was met with great approval and enthusiasm.   The Centene Executive we presented to is ready to take the idea forward, first of all to his peers for internal shepherding before approaching the President/CEO.

His appreciation of the goodwill it would create in the local community, coupled with the connection to national models of urban farms and businesses as well as the boost to the health of employees made it a big win.  Glen's idea to compare the community benefits other large St Louis companies provide to what the Centene Farm could bring, hit the ball out of the park.  

It was a herculean effort to create a presentation from 6+ feet of brain-boarding to tell the story simply.  Three of my dear friends, Aimee Muirnin Zander, Nicole Westrick and Audra Frick all swarmed in to deliver their expertise on the project.

Aimee, of Navigating Networks, helped me develop my business canvas. Thinking through my value proposition, key contributors and revenue streams helped me define what differentiated me.  It was arduous and she even made a house call during the thick of it all.

Nicole, an associate provost at Temple University, arrived from Philadelphia for our weekend together, unaware of the hours she's dedicate to combing through the presentation, tightening it up to a mere 9 pages.

Then Audra, of Frick Design House, took our concept and added visual design that provided a fantastic, flawless finish to the presentation.

Before these talented friends pitched in their support, a gifted nephew, Jesse Richards of JR Videos created a motion typography segment to promote the Centene Farm.  

So, as we wait to hear about next steps, I'm updating my CV to include "Urban Farm Advisor"!