| First Impressions: A Program for Community Improvement |
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Alison Hanham West Virginia University Extension Service After having visited someplace you've never been to before, you always have an opinion about it: how it looked, how it could be improved, what you'll remember about it, or how it compares to your own hometown. These ideas form the basis of a very successful program called First Impressions. Much of the material you will read here comes from a program offered through the West Virginia University Extension, which had adapted it from similar programs at the University of Wisconsin and Kansas State University. The original model for this program was developed by Andy Lewis, University of Wisconsin Extension Service, and James Schneider, Grant County Wisconsin, economic development director. Although not currently an operating program in New York, plans are being discussed to offer this assistance through the Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI). First Impressions has been marketed as a first step for communities of any size that are just beginning to gear up their community development efforts. Communities have used the findings to help rejuvenate their image to outsiders and, in the process, have not only become more attractive places to live and work, but also have created the synergy needed for continued community development. It is designed to help communities raise local awareness about what their community looks like to a first-time visitor. The visitors provide valuable information about how newcomers see the community, both the positive and the negative traits, and what can be done to improve and develop their community.
The program is very simple. Volunteer visitors arrive unannounced in the community and pose as prospective business owners, retirees, potential residents, shoppers or tourists. They explore the residential, retail and industrial areas, schools, local government offices and the Chamber of Commerce by driving and walking around the town. Visitors focus on aspects such as community aesthetics and appearance, access to services and the friendliness of the local people. Visitors are equipped with a disposable camera to document their impressions. Their observations, comments, photos and recommendations, are compiled in a summary report that is presented back to the community.
Anonymous visitors record their first impressions of the community. Getting good visitors is a key to this program. Potential visitors include Chamber of Commerce directors, economic development directors, city managers, business people and county extension faculty. Each team member uses a manual of established procedures and guidelines. This ensures that evaluations are standardized and reports are thorough. The manual is self-explanatory, so there is no need to train visitors. The whole community is evaluated; no individual business or comment is considered as the first impression of the total community. All observations and comments are included in the summary report. Recommendations for community action are made based on the issues raised by the visitors. The information on the report is credible because the community evaluation involves outsiders who have nothing personal to gain from the results. The following are a partial list of questions and evaluation points
from the visitor manual:
OUTCOMES The First Impressions program is a useful tool for increasing awareness of community strengths and areas of concern. Formal reports lead to community action to address both problems to be worked on and strengths to be built upon. Media coverage can also add to the impact of the First Impressions program since the findings and their importance to the community can easily be communicated. Communities feel that the most beneficial aspects of the program are the positive, unbiased opinions and perspectives of the visitors and the constructive criticism and recommendations made by the visitors. Participating communities also indicate the program was an excellent first step in the community development process. Volunteer visitors also value the program. First, they appreciate the opportunity to serve as volunteers for the program. Secondly, the program has a big impact on their own perspectives on community development. One volunteer noted: "I have a better understanding of the importance of long term community planning". Volunteers often have mentioned that the experience prompted them to look at their own communities in a more critical way.
The Teays Valley area in Putnam County, West Virginia, serves as an excellent example of how one community benefited from participating in the program and has gone a step further as a result. Building on the recommendations of the First Impressions report, the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce initiated an awards program to recognize projects within the county that make a good "first impression" on visitors and residents.
Tim Cullenen -
Extension Support Specialist, CaRDI Alison Hanham,
West Virginia University Extension Service LINKS Cornell Community
and Rural Development Institute University of Wisconsin
- Extension *Updated* First Impressions Users Guide from University of Wisconsin Extension National Trust for Historic Preservation - Main Street Center |
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