Patrick Overton serves as director of the Front Porch Institute in Astoria, Oregon. The Institute, created in 1996 while he was a tenured faculty member at Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri, is dedicated to creating resources for community arts and community cultural development. He is the recipient of the 1997 Missouri Arts Award, recognizing his “creative and outstanding service that has made an important and lasting contribution to the arts in Missouri.” In addition, in 1997, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a special resolution honoring his work in Missouri. Obtaining a Ph.D. in Communication in 1987, Overton studied as a Gregory Fellow and a College of Arts and Science Graduate Fellow at the University of Missouri. His area of concentration was organizational communications with collateral work in community development. His ongoing research in organizational communication focuses on 501? 3 not-for-profit, community-based organizations, exploring ways to develop and strengthen the vital contribution they make to the community-making process. Patrick Overton is a frequent keynote speaker, workshop leader, and nationally respected community arts and community cultural developer. His work through the Front Porch Institute focuses on non-profit, community-based organizational development, facility assessment, strategic planning, cultural assessment, and cultural planning. While he works with organizations of all types and sizes, he continues to address the special needs of smaller organizations in rural and small communities. Less