Terry Erickson, executive director of the Southeast Minnesota Community Action Agency (SEMCAC), updated the Mower County Board of Commissioners on the agency’s wide-ranging activities.

Erickson addressed the commissioners at Tuesday morning’s regular meeting.

County commissioners Dick Lang, 4th District, and Dave Tollefson, 5th District, are the county board’s representatives on Semcac’s advisory board.

Erickson began by saying Semcac, the agency which helps so many, was itself a victim of the August 2007 flooding in southeast Minnesota.

“At the time, we were moving our corporate headquarters from Rushford to Winona,” Erickson explained.

Torrential rains on an August weekend inundated the southeast Minnesota countryside, causing flooding and mud slides and made victims in seven counties, including Mower, according to Erickson.

On the bright side, the Semcac executive director told how it has obtained $9 million in QuickStart funds to aid flood victims in their recovery efforts.

Erickson told how the agency’s “flagship” programs, including congregate meal sites for senior citizens, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Head Start classes for pre-school children, continue to remain strong and viable in the region.

There is growing interest in Semcac’s Small Cities Development Grants Program.

Already recognized for its efforts to spur development with sanitary sewer, water, water towers and downtown revitalization, Erickson said a new emphasis is rehabilitating housing for low-income clients.