Transcript Coos County Survey Results and Recommendations

Coos County Survey Results and
Recommendations
A presentation to the Coos County
Marketing Steering Committee by
KDPaine & Partners LLC
April 4, 2007
Agenda
Methodology
Results
Competitive analysis
Business
Tourism
Recommendations
Next steps
2
Coos County Awareness/Perception Audit Methodology
Sent out 5,500 surveys to a random sampling of
Coos County residents (340 undeliverable)
Received 1,436 completed surveys
28% response rate
Open-ended questions were categorized and
coded for quantitative analysis
Verbatim comments available
3
Who responded to our survey
53% male, 47% female
69% are married
88% own their own home
94% have a high school diploma, 50% have a degree
Three-quarters have lived in Coos County for 20+ years
77% are 45 or older
50% make less than $40K a year
4
What we learned
We’re better than we think we are
We don’t know what’s just outside our door
We love our communities but not necessarily our
local governments
We feel safe
Coos County is a good place to raise kids
5
Berlin/Gorham/Lancaster generated the most response
Q11. In which of the following municipalities is your
permanent residence?
40%
Berlin
Gorham
11%
Lancaster
11%
6%
Groveton
Milan
5%
Whitefield
5%
Jeffferson
4%
4%
Colebrook
3%
Dalton
Carroll
2%
Stark
2%
Shelburne
2%
Dummer
1%
Pittsburgh
1%
Stewartstown
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
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Nearly half of all Coos County residents rated the
community in which they live favorably
Berlin (2.50) and Groveton (2.51)
residents rated their towns
significantly lower than did all other
Coos County residents
Q1. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live?
Excellent
8%
Good
38%
Neutral
23%
Fair
21%
Poor
0%
10%
“My hometown is the place for
me. I know my friends and they
know me.”
Mean score: 3.12
11%
20%
30%
“It’s an area where your house isn't
locked and the pleasant attitude of the
people and their desire to help when
you have problems.”
40%
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
7
Two-thirds of residents outside of Berlin and Groveton
rated their community “good” or “excellent”
“I’ve lived/been to many states; Maine,
Minnesota, Florida, Texas and Illinois and
I’ve always come home.”
Q1. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live?
Jefferson
3.88
N=56
Pittsburg
3.87
N=15
Gorham
3.81
N=149
Milan
3.77
N=62
Shelburne
3.76
N=21
Lancaster
3.74
N=140
Dalton
3.64
N=44
Dummer
3.56
N=16
Errol
3.55
N=11
Stewartstown
3.54
N=13
1
2
3
4
“I love living here. I grew up here, went
away to college and traveled all over
the world. I could never imagine living
anywhere else.”
“I’ve lived here all my life. I love the
area because there is always
something to see or do!”
5
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
8
Only about one-in-five residents in Berlin and Groveton
rated their community “good” or “excellent”
“It’s truly sad to have a town with
so many opportunities turn to
prisons for growth!”
Q1. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live?
Whitefield
3.48
N=64
Colebrook
3.43
N=46
Carroll
3.37
N=27
Stark
3.15
N=26
Clarksville
3.14
N=7
Groveton
2.51
Berlin
“Having lived in two other areas in NH
over 20 years, this area is lacking in
quality shopping, dining and
entertainment. It is also much more
expensive to live here.”
“Economy, healthcare, school
funding, employment opportunities
and teen recreation are poor. Not
many job opportunities for people to
advance in financially.”
N=75
2.50 N=525
0
1
2
3
4
5
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Residents feel that Coos County is a place for outdoor
recreation and a place to bring up a family
Coos County residents do not feel
that their community is a place for
employment or commerce.
Q2. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on the following attributes?
A place for outdoor recreation
4.05
A place to bring up a family
“Life is good here. We came back
here from Florida to raise our family. I
wish stores were closer but you get
used to that. Safety is a huge issue.”
3.78
Local government
2.64
A place to have or establish a
business
“This is a great place to live but I do
believe we need to aggressively work
on attracting industry to the area. The
loss of the mills and poor winter
weather has been a blow to the area.”
2.47
A place of commerce
2.05
A place of employment
1.88
0
1
2
3
4
5
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Coos County employment opportunities were rated very
low on various attributes across all towns
Q3. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on the following attributes?
Stability of
employment
opportunities
“Need more jobs!”
“Unfortunately, due to low job
opportunities, kids leave.”
2.03
Quality of
employment
opportunities
1.95
Compensation of
employment
opportunities
1.94
Number of
employment
opportunities
“There’s nothing here for the
young. My family all moved out of
town for work.”
1.87
Variety of
employment
opportunities
“The quality of life is good if you are
financially independent. Hard to
earn a decent living here.”
1.77
0
1
2
3
4
5
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Residents outside of Berlin rate the environment
(lack of pollution) in Coos County favorably…..
Q4. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on the following attributes (with regards
to raising a family)?
Berlin residents rated the
environment (3.08) significantly
lower than all other Coos County
residents.
3.68
Environment
Safety/crime
3.55
Emergency services
3.53
Availability of recreational activities
3.47
Quality of primary education
3.41
Diversity of religion
3.41
“I live in Berlin and I feel Coos County
offers a great peace of life and is really
God’s country. It’s a great place to
raise families as well as to retire.”
3.30
Local parks/playgrounds
0
1
2
3
4
5
“Great wildlife conservation. Visible stars
at night. Low noise, clean air. Great
sleeping, no need of air conditioning.
Good soil for gardening. Great fairs in
summer.”
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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…..but don’t feel that there is much culture or availability
or social activity in the county
“It is a very hard area to get a
decent living. It is also a long way
to travel for special doctors.”
Q4. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on the following attributes (with regards
to raising a family)? (cont.)
3.08
Healthcare
Housing/real estate
2.97
Childcare
2.96
Availability of communication services
2.91
“Bring in some industry and culture
in the area. We need to have our
youth feel that there are
opportunities right in their own
backyards so they don’t continue to
exit this county!
2.77
Quality of post-secondary education
2.66
Availability of social activities
2.45
Cost of living
2.30
Culture
0
1
2
3
4
5
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
“We need un-interrupted cell
phone service from Whitefield
north to the Canadian border and
from Dalton east to Berlin. High
speed internet country wide,
broadband, DSL and wireless.”
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Coos County residents rated all of the county’s outdoor
activities favorably
“I enjoy this area for its lack of
malls. I don’t like to “shop.” I enjoy
the outdoors. We have enjoyed the
camping, hiking, swimming, cross
country skiing, sledding. This area
best suits our interests.”
Q5. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on the following outdoor activities?
ATV/snowmobiling
4.40
Wildlife watching
4.39
Hiking
4.37
Hunting
4.33
Fishing
4.29
Skiing
4.17
Canoeing/kayaking
4.15
“Please help keep the wilderness as it
is while allowing recreational use. X-C
skiing with dogs. ATV’s, snow
machines and hiking trails make Coos
County what it is.”
4.07
Picnicking
Biking/mountain biking
4.00
Camping
3.99
Boating
3.97
State/national parks
3.96
0
1
2
3
4
5
“If you like peace and quiet great
mountains and landscape and have
sufficient money this is a good place
to live. If you like hunting, fishing,
snow machining and skiing.”
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Coos County received mediocre grades from residents
regarding the county’s business potential
Q6. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, regarding having or establishing a
business?
“Would like to see more bus
services and taxi services (public
transportation) we need more job
training opportunities.”
3.12
Quality of workforce
Availability of
property
2.98
Community
infrastructure
2.96
“More work needs to be done on
improving infrastructure in better
major routes. East, west as well
as north, south. Also looking into
new technology business, not
relying on forests only.”
2.70
Competition
2.65
Location
2.60
Overhead costs
2.30
Transportation
2.23
Economy
0
1
2
3
4
5
“Many years ago it was a great place
to live-economy was good-stores
lined Main Street in BerlinNow…nothing! The entire area
needs major upgrading!”
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Coos County received mediocre grades from residents
as a place of commerce
“It would be better if more business
and tourist attractions came in.
Instead of being place to attract
low-income families.”
Q7. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live as a place of commerce?
3.08
Tourism
“I’ve lived in Groveton since 1947
and have seen nothing in the past
few years but businesses leaving.
We have no real good restaurants
and have to travel 10-miles to get a
McDonalds Hamburger.”
2.83
Lodging
2.76
Restaurants
Availability of locally
grown agricultural
products
2.68
Local attractions
2.66
2.16
Retail shopping
0
1
2
3
4
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
5
“There needs to be more hotels and
restaurants in Berlin to
accommodate visitors and give them
a reason to stay in town for other
activities besides outdoor action. We
also need more variety for shopping.”
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Local governments in Coos County rated below average
with regard to taking action and use of funds
“[Coos County] Needs more jobs,
more help for needy, government
money, grants and cheaper
prices.”
Q8. How would you rate the town/city in which you
currently live, on its local government?
“I want my family to grow up in
clean environment but town
government is out of control.
Stupid people are doing stupid
things and no one is watching the
wallet.”
3.12
Management
2.65
Taking action
2.60
Use of Funds
Community
Interaction
2.30
0
1
2
3
4
5
“Local government in Berlin is
detached from what the people want.
We don’t want to live or be like the
Southern Cities or States. We live
here and accept lower wage earnings
so we can enjoy this area for what it
is: Friendly, clean, conservative, slowpaced and easy to live.”
Five-point scale: 5=excellent, 1=poor
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Low crime, small town are the advantages
Q20. What are the top advantages of living in Coos
County?
60%
Low crime/safe
44%
Remoteness /rural /small town
24%
Community pride
23%
Accessiblity to other communities
19%
Clean air, land, water/ low pollution
Natural scenery/beautiful
18%
Friendly people
17%
Variety of outdoor activities/recreation
17%
Quality of life
14%
Good, strong workforce
9%
Qualtity healthcare
8%
Quality education
8%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
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Lack of jobs, taxes and shopping are the disadvantages
Q21. What are the top disadvantages of living in Coos
County?
49%
Lack of jobs/poor paying jobs
38%
High taxes
34%
No shopping facilities
19%
Distance from larger cities
17%
Poor economy
Poor limited education
15%
Terrible roads
15%
Poor/expensive healthcare
15%
13%
Poor local transportation
Influx of welfare recipients
Lack of modern communications
Cost of goods
0%
11%
9%
8%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
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Outdoor activities are the attraction
Q22. What are the top features/events/activities in your
immediate community that you feel attract visitors
and/or tourists?
54%
Snowmobiling
33%
White Mtns / wildlife scenery
Skiing
30%
Hiking
30%
Hunting
29%
26%
Fishing
19%
Moose/moose tours/festivals
16%
ATV parks/trails
Camping
13%
Bodies of water
13%
Fall foliage
12%
Heritage Park / River Fire/Logger
0%
8%
20%
40%
60%
20
Coos County offers the best scenery and outdoor
recreation on the planet
Q23. Coos County is/offers the best ______ on the
planet?
22%
Views/ scenery/ mountains
20%
Outdoor recreation
7%
People / friends
Enviorment (air, water)
6%
Quality of life/ way of life
6%
5%
Wildlife
Place to raise a family
3%
Country living/ rural life
3%
Snowmobiling/ four wheeling
3%
Place to live
3%
Foliage/ leaf peeping
Quiet/ peaceful
0%
3%
2%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
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How do we stack up against the competition?
We’re better ….
Our strengths
Unparalleled mountains/views
Close-knit community
Safer
Cleaner water 1
Cleaner air 1
Better balance between work and play
More airports
1: www.scorecard.org
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Our weaknesses
Highway access
Range of educational facilities
Lack of incubator space and furniture
Communications/technology
Dwindling employment pool
PR/Marketing
24
What do the country’s best cities for business have that we don’t?
Casper, Wyoming
Lewiston-Auburn, ME
Berlin
13.5%
14%
2.9%
$127,300
$89,900
$70,500
Incentives
Foreign trade zone
Foreign Trade Zone
Low interest loans, Job training
Tax breaks
Median age
36
39
41.5
Moderate
Moderate
Abundant
Low
Growing
Low
5
2
0
Free from natural disaster
Floods
Yes
Yes
Quality of life
Good
Good
Good
Average commute
15.8
18.8
15.4
Medium
High
Low
Shopping
High
High
Low
Communications (broadband, cell)
High
High
Low
% High School diploma
89.1%
72.3%
72.6%
% College +
29.4%
16.6%
8.8%
3
6
2
Combined Tax Rate (Property, sales,
income)
Average house cost
Availability of affordable office space
Crime
Highways
Cost of living
Educational facilities
25
The competitive landscape – tourism
26
What do we have to offer for tourism experiences?
Extreme
Family
Women
Historic
Cultural
Senior
Outdoor
Youth
Mountaineering
White water
Search &
Rescue
Hiking
Climbing
Geocaching
Ice climbing
Tuckermans
Spelunking
Hang Gliding
Skydiving
Wakeboarding
Biathlons –
Wildman
Triathlons
Moose
Six Gun City
Santa’s
Village
Flat Water
Paddling
Geocaching
Heritage Park
ATV
Hiking
AMC
Dalton Gang
Corn Maze
Photography
Air show
Quilting
Photography
Golf
Biking
Hiking
Canoeing
Kayaking
Grand hotels
Spas
Heritage Park
Rogers
Rangers
Covered
Bridge
POW Camp
Reenactments
St. Kierans
Chapel Arts
Fiddle Contest
Colebrook
Church?
Hiking
Quilting
Historic sites
Bird Watching
Fly fishing
Hunting
ATV
Skiing
Geocaching
Snowboarding
ATV
Extreme
sports
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How do we stack up against our neighbors?
Family
Northeast Kingdom
Moosehead, ME
Coos County
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
Barton Historical Society?
Great Corn Maze
Bicycle trails (Top 100)
Sailing
Hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails
Caledonia County Fair
Old Stone House Museum
Stars and Stripes Festival
Northeast Kingdom Fall Foliage Festival
Golf – 1 18-hold course
14 Private campgrounds
1 national forest
Cabot Creamery
Lake Cruises
41 Camp Rental Companies
Fishing
Sailing
Moose-Maineia canoe race
Seaplane Fly-in
Moosehead marine Museum
Lake cruises on Katahdin
Golf- 1 9-hold course
9 private campgrounds
41 private rental companies
Moose
Heritage Park
Hiking
Santa’s Village
Six Gun City
Grand Hotels
ATV
Bird Watching
Corn Mazes
Grant Hotels
Lancaster Fair
Pittsburg Moose Festival
Milan Old Homes Day
5 18-hole courses
24 private campgrounds
14 state parks
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How do we stack up against our neighbors?
Extreme
Skiing
Northeast Kingdom
Moosehead, ME
Coos County
Winter camping
Ice climbing
Skijoring
Pond Skimming
Whitewater rafting
Camden National Moose on the Run
Skydiving
Ice climbing
Spelunking
Hang gliding
Snowboarding
Geo-caching
Biathlons
Triathlons
Street luge
Rapids
Jay Peak
Burk Mountain (80 km Cross Country)
Burke (45 downhill trails)
No downhill
8 Cross Country Ski Areas
Wildcat
Balsams
Tuckerman
AMC
Great Glen
Nansen (Milan)
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How do we stack up against our neighbors?
Snowmobile
Northeast Kingdom
Moosehead, ME
Coos County
28 Snowmobile clubs
1 Snowmobile club
43 miles of trails
3 Sales/rental locations
1 repair shop
Ricky craven Ride for Charity
15 Snowmobile Clubs
Hundreds of miles of trails
Jericho Mountain
Success Trail
Perry Stream
North Country ATV Club
Bayroot LLC
Nash Stream
Cohos Trail
Snowdeo
Easter Seals Ride in
ATV Annual Ride-in
Snowmobile friendly facilities
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How do we stack up against our neighbors?
Northeast Kingdom
Moosehead, ME
Coos County
Historic
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
Barton Historical Society
Old Stone House Museum
Moosehead Marine Museum
Moosehead Historical Society
15 places on the National Registry of Historic
Places
Northern Heritage Park
Reenactments
POW Camp
Rogers Rangers
Gorham Historical Society
Cultural
Parker House Gallery
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum & Art
Gallery
Stephen Huneck’s Gallery
The Catamount Film and Arts Center
Forest Heritage Days
St. Kierans
Fiddlers Contest
Colebrook Church
Sea plane fly-in
Photo contest
Fall Foliage Tours (airports)
Photography
Hiking
6 trails no mountains
Appalachian Trail
4,000 foot club
AMC
The Presidentials
Tuckerman's
Randolph Mountain Club
COHOS Trail?
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How do we stack up against our neighbors?
Northeast Kingdom
Moosehead, ME
Coos County
Lake Memphomagog
Lake Willoughbee
Sailing
41 Camp Rental Companies
Sailing
Ammonoosuc River
Androscoggin River i.e.
Connecticut lakes
Umbagog lakes
Flat water and white water
Women
Craft fairs
Camps
Shopping
Steamship Cruise
Scenic drives
Craft Fairs
Quit Show
Christmas @ Moosehead
Golf
Grand Hotels
Quilting
Flat water & White water
Fishing
Lake Memphomagog
Lake Willoughbee
Total 35,575 acres of ponds
3840 miles of rivers
50 public boat launches
41 Camp Rental Companies
Landlocked Salmon
75,000 acre lake
600 lakes and ponds
30 miles of streams
Ice fishing
White water
Over 400 miles of river
Connecticut lakes
Umbagog lakes
Trout
Ice fishing
Hunting
Deer, bear, waterfowl, moose, grouse, wild
turkey,
Deer, bear, waterfowl, grouse,
Guided hunting trips
Biggest deer, Most bears
63% Moose success rate, highest # of bears, deer
Wild Turkeys
Watersports
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What do we need to do?
Communications in the 21st century
The food-chain approach to communications
The
Message
The Influentials
The Marketplace:
Tourists
Businesses
Young people
The Media
Online
MSM
34
Coos County Communications in the 21st century
Blogs
Websites
Key Words
Coos County
Biking?
Hiking?
History?
35
How they’ll find us Finding key words
Key words
Related key words
Search Engine Optimization
Word of mouth
Vertical blogs/websites
Travel/tourism blogs/websites
Speeches/presentations/events
36
Business Recruitment Opportunities
Strength
Ex-pat Coos County Graduate
Entrepreneurs
Bio-fuels/renewable energy
Extreme sports
Canadian
entrepreneurs
Ecotourism
Manufacturing
Low growth
Women entrepreneurs
Call centers/telemarketing
High demand/growth area
Healthcare
Distribution facilities
Education/Training
Transportation/Warehousing
Distribution facilities
Weakness
37
Tourism Opportunities
Strength
Fly Fishing
Geo-caching
Flatwater Paddling
Hiking
ATV
Whitewater Paddling
Fishing
Hunting
Cross-country
Skiing
Extreme sports
History
Ecotourism
Bicycling
Downhill
Skiing
Low growth
Golf
High demand/growth area
Family/amusement
Running/Road races
Tennis
Soccer
Weakness
38
Recommendations – Change the subject
Berlin needs to become the solution not the problem
Without Berlin, Coos County doesn’t have the buildings, workforce and
infrastructure to attract business
Tell the world that we are not your father’s North Country
It doesn’t smell
You can see the mountains
The water is clean
There’s more here than you think
Speak with one voice
Celebrate what Coos County is/has
The weather
The woods
The water
The wildlife
The people
39
Recommendations – Frame the discussion
We’re better – better than we were AND a better place to start a business
Coos, the county. Not the depressed North Country or The Great North Woods
Save gas, spend more time with your family: Play where you work, work where you
play
Northsourcing, not Outsourcing
We’re closer- Boston is less than a tank away from the best outdoor experience in New
England. If you work in Berlin you can be on a ski slope 30 minutes after leaving work.
We’re balanced – we have mountains and rivers, towns and wilderness, airports and
hiking trails, amusements parks and national parks, Republicans and the Coos County
Democrat.
We’re grand – what other county can boast 3 Grand Resort Hotels?
We’re extreme – worst weather on earth, toughest climbs – just try challenging OUR
Presidents
We’re real: Real food, real people, real politics, real country – the real NH
We’re pure: Clean water, clean air, great views and smells good
Safe
Great place to raise a family
We’re the future
Soon to be the state’s first energy self-sufficient county
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Next steps: Start a conversation
On-line
Web sites
VisitNH
Chamber sites
NorthNH
Flickr
Blogs
Special interest
MSM
Public Radio
Verticals
Business
Small business
Home business
Travel/tourism
Lifestyle
General interest
YouTube
41
Low-hanging fruit Ideas
Get High Schools involved in fixing the youth-flight problem
Congressional Prize for High School Innovation?
Outreach to 2500 + High School graduates on Classmates that graduated
between 1965-1995- get them back for reunions, motivate them to return and
start business
Sell excess housing in Berlin for $1 to anyone who commits to starting a bed &
breakfast
Incentives to producers/sponsors of road races, bike races and other events that
bring people up here to smell the air
Head of the Androscoggin race for kayaks, canoes and rowing shells
Leverage the airports for airshows, fly-ins, smoke-jumping training, flight schools
Go after Canadian entrepreneurs frustrated by red tape
Start incubator space in Fraser buildings that are vacant
Leverage presidential candidates as “celebs” to engage youth
Leverage media attention from primary to promote Coos County
42
How will we know we’re successful?
Measuring of success
Activity measures
Web site traffic
To County site
To VisitNH – North Country specific pages
To Chamber web sites
To Berlin and other locale specific sites
NHWorks
Phone calls to:
Economic Development Directors
Chambers
AVER
NCIC
NHWorks
44
How we’ll know if we’ve changed the discussion
Messaging/framing in:
Local media
National media
Travel/tourism media
Business media
How we’re discussed in social media
45
Outcome measures
# of new jobs
Increase/decrease in % of 18-24 age group
Room & meals tax revenue
% improvement in satisfaction scores
46
Questions that still need to be asked:
Why is the UNH Forestry School so far from the
Forest?
Why not “Survivor Coos County”?
47
Next steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Release findings
Start three do-able projects
Measure results
Announce progress
48
Thank You!
For more information email me at [email protected]
Or go to http://www.measuresofsuccess.com
Or call me at 1-603-682-0735
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