RICHLAND TWP, Clarion County — More than 40 people attended a meeting Thursday night to commit to helping spur growth and foster revitalization in a three-community region.

The effort is known as the Oil Region Group Blueprint Community initiative.

The meeting, held at the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Elementary School, gave the organizers a chance to discuss a draft vision statement for the region and how the residents could help.

The Oil Region Group is made up of Emlenton, Foxburg and Parker. The municipalities, known as Blueprint Communities, are organizing to help plan for the next five years and seek new funding sources.

David McDeavitt, superintendent of the Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District, said the initiative can spur growth and bring more jobs to the area and the district.

“That’s going to benefit everyone,” McDeavitt said.

Pennsylvania Blueprint Communities is an initiative sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

All three communities are in different counties, but they share the same school district and are along the Allegheny River.

The core planning group is made up of two representatives from each community, a member of the Venango County Planning Commission, a member of Farmer’s National Bank and two people from the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism.

Nancy Marano, Emlenton manager, said the core group is only as good as its active community members. She said the group has been reaching out to the community for people to become stakeholders.

“We all have to put in effort,” Marano said.

Cindy Elder with Farmer’s National Bank said the initiative is designed to build local leadership, serve as a catalyst for revitalization and create a team approach.

“We’re trying to bring everything together to strengthen it and become more of a team player,” Elder said.

The group posed a survey for residents to respond to about the region, and 384 responded.

Marano said the core group and residents surveyed all said the region’s biggest assets were natural beauty, financial services, construction and people. Both groups also identified a lack of jobs as an issue.

After discussing the survey, the meeting turned to a draft vision statement.

John Soroka, executive director of the Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts, read the draft vision statement, which emphasized the region’s nature, and recreational and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The people in the audience as well as members of the team gave suggestions for improving or modifying the statement.

Rick Viglione, a field outreach specialist with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, ran an electronic audience survey at the end of the meeting.

The survey indicated the people in attendance had a positive outlook on the region. It also showed 95 percent of the attendees agreed on the statement and agreed the statement is inspiring. About 90 percent said the vision was attainable.

About 90 percent of the people in attendance indicated they would be willing to volunteer their time to the initiative.

“That’s awesome,” Viglione said. “Head and shoulders above the rest.”

The other Blueprint Communities this year are New Castle, Clarion, the Curwensville Group, the Huntington County Group and Reynoldsville.

He said the Oil Region Group was more optimistic than the audiences at recent public meetings at Reynoldsville and New Castle.