Pati, I too live in a rural district with a large nationally acclaimed university and small hospital nearby. Our school board and economic devlopment commission, in conjunction with our community/school groups are examining more ways to utilize these resources better. Find out if there are any plans being made by your Board and local officials to tap into your university and other underutilized resources. If not, ask why, and be prepared with suggestions. Ask that your group be included and made a part of the process. This will give you contacts at the university, as well as within your local leadership infrastructure.
Our high school athletic/band boosters club was in the same boat as you as far as no one knowing that they were providing the equipment and supplies to the band and teams. So they began "tooting their own horn" (pardon the pun) and published letters in the local papers, sent newsletters home with accomplishments and goals listed, and posted signs and banners on the playing fields and such crediting themselves with the new scoreboards, bleachers, concessions, etc. This has gone a long way towards getting them the recognition they deserve for their dedication to the children, and taken the heat off the Board (who was being accused of excessively spending for one high school and not for the other).
To keep from becoming monotonous, we don't always hold meetings in the schools; instead we ask a local coffee shop or diner to host us at a discount for coffee and refreshemnts (sometimes they host us for free) in exchange for free advertising for their business in our newsletter and on signs at our functions. When we do host meetings in the school, we ask one of them to cater with light refreshments, again in exchange for more exposure to the community. These school/business partnerships have gone a long way towards improving our local economy, as well, by giving the locals exposure to our little-known gems within the county and improving the image of the businesses as being concerned about education. Now when we need something from the business community, we are not shy about asking, because we know the owners and they are familiar with us.
Overall, though, our best success has come from our partnerships with our local health department, dept. of social services, chamber of commerce, economic development commission, real estate agencies, elected officials, and businesses. Through these partnerships, we have been able to kick off a huge PR campaign for our schools and groups...and it has given us some terrific ideas for our meetings. And they are surprisingly more approachable and willing to help than one would initially think.
[img]smile.gif[/img] Hope this helps...and if you ever find the key to getting total involvement from teachers (our weakest point) and community alike...please don't keep it to yourself!