Have you heard of the Rural Tour? Sponsored by the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Rural Tour’s mission is an effort to engage in a more robust dialog with folks living in rural America.
The tour is crossing the nation – click here to find out if a stop is near you! If you can’t make it to a meeting, the Rural Tour has am interactive website where you can leave your comments and suggestions. I urge you to join the conversation!
You can also follow the Rural Tour on Twitter or on Facebook – get engaged now!
A letter posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explains more:
Today, our communities, big and small, are struggling. And the challenges ahead are even greater.
Government does not have all the answers but it can help share innovative ideas and problem-solving techniques from communities with the rest of the country.
Building a foundation for success and prosperity for the new, 21st century economy will take a collective and collaborative effort with all of us talking, debating and solving, together.
President Obama asked me to lead this effort. So far we have held more than a dozen forums with Secretaries from the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, as well as local elected officials from the areas to which we travelled.
We won’t make it to every town in America but that does not mean we do not want to hear from you. On this website you will find information about where we have been and are going, as well as ways you can communicate your ideas to us and others visiting this site. Call, email, write, videotape, photograph, you name it. We want to hear from you.