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Welcome to the Tuscarawas County
Community Development Program

Chris Zoller
Extension Agent
Agriculture, Natural Resources
Community Development

First Impressions Program
Promoting Community Self Awareness
 
 

What is the First Impressions Program?

Ever wonder what impressions a visitor has when they first visit your community? We all know what is special about where we live, but do shoppers, tourists, or business travelers share our feelings?

The First Impressions Program provides an opportunity for you to discover a first time visitor's image of your community. A visitation team from another community tours your community and reports their impression based on a number of criteria. Included is cleanliness, access to and availability of services, friendliness and physical appearance.

The purpose of the program is to help community leaders assess the impact of their efforts to be an attractive community to shoppers, tourists, business travelers and potential employers.

Currently there are three surveys: a general community survey, a downtown survey and a corridor (byways) survey.

How can the First Impressions Program be used?

The First Impressions Program is used to gather insight to assist on-going community planning and goal setting efforts. It can also be used to initiate the planning process. Information gained throught the First Impressions process will help to:

  • Evaluate the success of your development initiatives
  • Identify how to strengthen community services
  • Create an enhanced image to the outside world
  • Focus your development efforts
How does the First Impressions Program work?

Extension community development professionals help match your community with one of similar character.

Visitation Teams are formed and trained in each community. They visit each other anonymously and record their first impressions of the community on survey forms developed by Extension.

Each community then shares these reports and the results of their visit with the other community. The results can then be used by local leadership to improve the image they present to the outside world.

Steps in the First Impressions Process

Extension's First Impressions Program has five steps:

  1. Identify a sponsoring group for the program
  2. Community is paired with another similar community
  3. Visitation teams are created and trained
  4. Visists are conducted
  5. Results are shared
If your community would be interested in exploring the possiblity of a First Impressions Program with Ohio State University Extension, please contact the team coordinator for further information.

Myra Moss, Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension
740-732-2381

Team Members:
Terry Tamburini, Washington County
Amy Grove, Morgan County
Bill Grunkemeyer, Program Leader, Community

There is a small fee per community for this program.


 

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Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all research and related educational programs are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran status. This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA. Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868.

  Updated November 2007