More than 200 business and civic leaders from across southeast Arkansas will gather at Grand Prairie Center in Stuttgart Thursday to talk about the future of a region that has long struggled to keep up with the rest of the state economically. Having spent four years working for the Delta Regional Authority, I can promise you that there are no easy answers.

Still, I'm glad the Alliance for Rural Impact, a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 by Jamie Wright and Jennifer Watkins to serve rural communities, hasn't given up on the southeast quadrant. Looking at Thursday's agenda, it's obvious the folks at ARI will pull no punches. That agenda states: "We're not here to talk about decline. We're here to talk about how to reverse it."

We know what the problems are. We know how we got here. The last thing we need is another study listing those problems. Let's focus on the future.

The first session is "Your Town Is Sick, But It Can Heal." It will outline what happens when a community loses its sense of self. Those at the conference will learn the signs that a town is losing its soul and how to fix the problem.

The second session is "The Root Cause of Disconnection." Participants will ponder important questions. Why are people leaving? What do they say when they leave? What's missing here that exists in places these people choose? What's the emotional tone of this place?

During lunch, participants will be asked to discuss the things that made them stay in southeast Arkansas when so many others were leaving. After lunch, a session will be devoted to ways communities can make residents feel seen and valued. It's more than customer service. It's a spirit of hospitality that hangs over a town. Small touches, it turns out, can deliver huge emotional returns.

Later in the afternoon, those at the Grand Prairie Center will break into teams to map out what's known as a "stay strategy." In other words, they will come up with things that can make towns in southeast Arkansas feel like home again. The discussion will cover areas such as aesthetics, culture, housing, gathering spaces and local pride (or the lack thereof).

We must keep answering tough questions while being honest with ourselves. According........

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