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February 09, 2007 Governor Riley Forms “Action Commission” to Focus on Rural Areas of State
MONTGOMERY – Governor Bob Riley announced today he is forming the Rural Alabama Action Commission to coordinate efforts aimed at improving the quality of life in the state’s rural areas. The Governor also announced he has appointed former Senator Gerald Dial to serve as the commission’s executive director. Two years ago, the Governor created the Black Belt Action Commission to focus exclusively on the 12-county region characterized by persistently high rates of poverty and economic stagnation. The Governor said that commission, with its 800 local volunteers, has met with so much success in improving the Black Belt that citizens in other areas of the state asked him to appoint a similar commission focused on other rural parts of Alabama. “The Black Belt Action Commission became a model of success and we’d like to replicate what they’ve done and put it all over the state,” Governor Riley said today. “We’ve proven with the Black Belt Action Commission that if you concentrate and make it a priority, you can improve the quality of life there. We need to do that for all of rural Alabama.” The Black Belt Action Commission has worked with local and state officials to expand economic growth, improve access to health care and improve education in the region. Members of that commission helped recruit new and expanding industries to the Black Belt, bring free computers to school systems in the Black Belt, and offer free health care fairs and vision screenings in every Black Belt county. The Rural Alabama Action Commission was part of Plan 2010, which the Governor unveiled last fall. Dial has decades of experience in the Legislature representing some of Alabama’s most rural communities. During his tenure, he helped recruit industries, engage local development groups and work with a broad range of citizens on economic development efforts and other activities to improve their rural areas. “This is a real challenge, a real mission, and I undertake it with a lot of enthusiasm. I come from rural Alabama and I’ve lived and worked in rural Alabama all my life,” Dial said. The Rural Alabama Action Commission, he said, is “an opportunity for everyone in this state who wants to make a difference.” Governor Riley said that, like the Black Belt Action Commission, membership on the Rural Alabama Action Commission is open to everyone. | |
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