T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Vision Marshalltown Co-Chair Karn Gregorie, right, discussed the organization’s initial mission statement during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting while Executive Director Kylie Leger looks on.

On Tuesday, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors were told by Vision Marshalltown it wants to grow all of Marshall County, not just Marshalltown.

Co-Chair Terry Buzbee, Co-Chair Karn Gregoire and Executive Director Kylie Leger, reviewed the organization’s early history, the importance of having a “growth” mindset, and its new strategic plan.

“My role today is to talk about one word, growth,” Buzbee, a retired Emerson executive, said. “When you do not have growth, there is stagnation and resulting problems. With growth comes opportunities. Every day on my agenda at Emerson I had growth built-in.”

Buzbee said a business, an organization or other entity must be prepared and ready to grow, that is, be in possession of the necessary assists and infrastructure.

Leger told the board Vision Marshalltown is not an organization, but rather a network of community members focused on growth.

Gregoire said business plans from several businesses and organizations made their way into Vision Marshalltown’s strategic plan.

The four areas of growth Vision Marshalltown has identified is:

• Downtown — grow downtown through the master plan and communicate what is in the plan.

• Education — develop more work-based learning experiences and increase the reputation of education opportunities locally.

• Housing — increase capacity and implement action and strategy recommendations from the housing study.

• Pride and reputation — improve the aesthetics of town, implement a marketing strategy, intentionally recognize Marshalltown’s growth and progress by serving as promoters of the community and distribute material showcasing the strength of the town.

Leger and Gregoire said organizations were initially identified, and then agreed to take responsibility for implementing Vision Marshalltown four growth elements.

For example, the City of Marshalltown and Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce are working to create 1,000 new housing units.

“This is a collaboration,” Gregoire said. “What has made this successful … is that it is not about Vision Marshalltown, it is about helping to bring everyone together.”

The next regular session is 9:05 a.m. March 17. All business to be acted upon at that session should be submitted to the Marshall County Auditor and Recorder’s office or the Board of Supervisor’s office by 1 p.m. March 12.