Murphy – “There is no limit to what a community can do … if it wants to.”
This motto guided the Western North Carolina Development Association as it founded the community development clubs in Cherokee County. In 1974, the late Jack Early, a community-minded maverick, helped oversee the construction the nine buildings as well as the clubs themselves.
As the county’s Extension director, Early immersed himself in the clubs. At that time, only Bellview, Culberson, Hiwassee Dam, Martins Creek, Texana, Topton, Unaka and Wolf Creek hosted community development clubs. That number would swell to 17 under his management.
Historically, Cherokee County Community Development Clubs met under the umbrella of the Cherokee County Community Development Council. Doug Clement, county director of N.C. Cooperative Extension, said the council dissolved in 2000. However, before the dissolution, the state Extension service – in financial cooperation with the community clubs – hosted an annual awards program to honor the club members and committees that helped provide an impactful change to their communities.
The judging entity, the Western North Carolina Development Association, presented each community club a report book that would showcase its endeavors for the year. They could list their goals and offer summations of their achievements.
Because the judging occurred in the pre-computer era, club members were encouraged to create scrapbooks. Scrapbooking was the precursor to the modern day promotional videos.
The judging categories were wide ranging, including Beautification, Mobile Home and Safety Improvement, youth and senior programs. The community clubs also selected a man and woman of the year.
The original meetings were much more formal than gatherings today. According to their bylaws, the meetings were governed by Robert’s Rules of Order. U.S. Army Officer Henry Martyn, perhaps wearied by unproductive meetings full of unfocused monologues, developed a parliamentary approach to civic meetings in 1876.
According to Robertsrules.com, the rules cover every contingency, including who has authority to break a tie vote and even “how to get rid of officers we don’t like before their term is up.” The community clubs followed Robert’s Rules that, like the clubs themselves, rely on courtesy and respect.
The club’s most important by-law provides an insight into the purpose behind the clubs’ ambitions. In Article I they state their first objective as “encourage and promote harmonious relationships among the organized communities of Cherokee County.”
Also listed is the imperative to “develop a unified program of community activities based on the needs, goals and resources of its member communities. Monday’s gathering demonstrated how the community development clubs today faithfully hold to the mission of their historic origins.