NATCHEZ &045; To develop your community to its fullest potential, don’t look at the big picture first.

Instead, a group of concerned citizens should first pick a short-term project, one that can be completed in a month. Once that’s done, the group should pick and accomplish more goals, both long- and short-term.

Group members should identify other key leaders in the community who should be a part of the effort, then work on soliciting their cooperation one person at a time until a &uot;critical mass&uot; of supporters is reached.

Oh, and another thing: People don’t have to like each other to work together toward a common goal &045; they only have to have common interests.

Small turf battles and big issues such racism often work themselves out as people work toward their goal.

That was the message consultant Dr. Vaughn Grisham brought to a Monday meeting organized by Vision Natchez and Its Neighbors, a group of citizens concerned with developing Natchez and the surrounding area.

More than 80 people gathered Monday at the Natchez Convention Center to hear what Grisham said are the keys to economic and community development.

Grisham, director of the McLean Institute for Community Development at the University of Mississippi, has worked in community revitalization for 35 years. He is assisting several cities, including Natchez, with the help of a grant he recently received.

In addition to the above revelations, Grisham gave those gathered examples of communities that have turned themselves around by working together, including:

4An Arkansas town of 6,000 that lost 1,100 manufacturing jobs in 10 days and had a 50- to 60-percent rate of vacant buildings downtown. The town managed to &uot;stop the hemorrhaging,&uot; Grisham said, by forming a similar group to look at ways to capitalize on that area’s assets.

4The North Carolina &uot;research triangle&uot; that includes three major universities, using its educational resources to attract high-tech industries.

4A Georgia town that decided its greatest strength was its citizens’ storytelling ability. Marketing the stories to those in show business, the town was able to eventually produce a play using those stories, which was used to attract tourists to the area.

4Tupelo, which through cooperative efforts has added 1,000 new jobs a year for 19 straight years.

4A South Dallas school that used the efforts of parents, faculty and community volunteers to add youth programs that led to high test scores and a nonexistent dropout rate.

During a question-and-answer session at the end of the two-hour program, participants aired a few ideas of projects they would like to see accomplished.

Former Economic Development Authority board member Charles Yarbrough said he would like to see the community develop a publicly-owned site where industries could locate.

&uot;Many times, if (industries) have to negotiate with individuals for land, they’ll do elsewhere,&uot; Yarbrough said.

Darryl Grennell, president of the Adams County Board of Supervisors, said he would like to see the old First Baptist Church building on Main Street renovated.

That way, the now vacant and increasingly dilapidated building could be used by educational institutions such as Alcorn State University for programs downtown, Grennell said.

But whatever project is chosen, Grisham said the group shouldn’t let the momentum created so far die.

&uot;I don’t want to create just one more plan,&uot; he said. &uot;Find something you can do in a month. Don’t lose any of your energy.&uot;

Vision Natchez and Its Neighbors’ next meeting is set for 5 p.m. March 28 at the convention center, said Rena Jean Schmieg, who organized the group. The group is now working under the auspices of the Community Alliance.