Becky Adams

Rural Minnesota is part of who I am – and I love it! My parents were raised on dairy farms in Ottertail County. No matter where I lived during the school year from elementary school to my college years, I spent every summer at the lake by Dent, Minnesota. To me, rural Minnesota is summers at the lake. Football on Friday nights. Family reunions. Meat and potato suppers. Church on Sundays.

I was raised to do my part and be helpful where I could. I see that commitment and connection in the 20-plus years of knowing rural people and the communities they live in, through my work at the Blandin Foundation. The focus on doing the work so needed in communities is what makes rural communities succeed– whether that’s the people working behind the scenes or sitting in positions of visible leadership.

“Taking good care” is the way I describe the work of our community-building team here at the Foundation. We help build up the relationships, skills and knowledge that nourish rural people’s connections to each other, and the places they’re proud to live. Those connections anchor rural innovation, ingenuity and creativity. That’s so important because in rural places we have to get creative because the systems that are built weren’t made for us!

Rural places that consider and build solutions for the health, education, social, business and work needs of all the people living there are the ones that thrive. If my work makes a difference in this work – it’s been a good week!