Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/140126
COMMUNITY SUPPORT • 10 Creating community goodwill garners long-term results, but requires a long-term perspective. Short-term efforts are easily seen for what they are. hearing on your project in Little Rock, Ark. If you are a local company, information about the industry and issues and violations involving other producers can and will be used to attack your application. Any resident with access to a copy machine and a computer can distribute flyers saying that your new facility will be blasting away the foundations of neighborhood homes, that dust will cause asthma, and trucks will run over children. Whether it is true or not, people can still put it out there. And I guarantee you that if they pass out a thousand of these flyers, 250 people will show up to oppose you at the public hearing. You actually can combat this, even if you cannot control the deeds of other producers or the industry as a whole. When you want to increase your quarry footprint or open a new plant in a neighboring community, the local elected officials and other decision makers usually want to approve your project. The reason is simple: the new facility will bring new jobs into the community for which they can take credit, and you CommunitySupport_AGRM0613.indd 10 will increase the commercial tax base for the city or county where you operate (and unlike a home, you will not be placing children into the local school system). Overall, a new facility is a win for the municipality. But the decisionmakers are not going to like it enough to put their political futures at risk. In this day and age, simply dealing with the "power brokers" in town does not get you approvals. You need to garner a trust with the community — residents need to know you, and you need to become part of local fabric. Trust is the most difficult barrier to overcome when reaching out to a neighborhood and natural opponents. Face it, they are inclined to not trust you, and the only way to have them trust you is to demonstrate that the community is not just a place of business for you, that this is your home as well, that you and your employees live here and want what is best for the community. The only way to accomplish this requires time, effort, and communication. Simply writing a check for sponsorship opportunities is not enough by itself. In fact, taking just that step is missing an incredible opportunity. Creating community goodwill garners long-term results, but it is not a short-term exercise relegated to the times you need to expand your operation or some other permit from the town or county. Those short-term efforts are easily seen for what they are: an attempt to buy approvals through gifts and mitigation. It provides you with no goodwill and can cause a backlash and resentment from your would-be opponents. You will hear comments such as, "They are trying to buy the new quarry," or "The planning board works for Acme Paving." True or not, it doesn't play well among residents or in the media. The more effective way to conduct community outreach is to make sure your company and employees become part of the community. This effort is going to take time and hard work. Some clients I've worked with had already been participating in community activities, and some had not. Those who do get involved find the goodwill they build can be a crucial benefit when they need a demonstration of public support. One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to become involved is through the local school system — "adopting" a grade or two in a local school whose pupils come out once a year, parents and teachers 5/19/13 12:22 PM