National and Regional Efforts Coincide

As Vision 2020 staff, we see the two fundamental roles we need to fill are:

• Catalysts for the region to turn planning into action, and
• Motivators to inspire regional leaders and community members to help change the story of Northeast Indiana. With that being said, we are constantly looking for inspiration ourselves and are always amazed at the conversation that is happening nationally that resonates so clearly with what is happening in Northeast Indiana.

Arianna Huffington’s blog post yesterday titled “Country in Crisis: Looking to America’s Mayors to Rise to the Challenge,” is exactly that type of inspiration that got me all excited. How do I know when I’ve found that great bit of inspiration? When I want everyone in the office to drop whatever they are doing and read an article immediately, then I know I’m inspired.
 
The post hit on so many of the points that we are trying to convey about transformative change occurring at the local level, here are a few of my favorites:

• “As our nation becomes more polarized at the national political level, it becomes all the more important to nurture the commonality we have at the local level, where people care about what they’ve always cared about: their children, their families, their schools, their communities.”

• “And as more and more people lose trust in national institutions, they’re turning more and more to what is local, to what they can see and touch and feel. This gives our mayors a great opportunity, but also a great challenge.”

• “The ingredients for a successful startup and a successful city are remarkably similar. You need to build stuff that people want. You need to attract quality talent. You have to have enough capital to get your fledgling ideas to a point of sustainability. And you need to create a world-class culture that not only attracts the best possible people, but encourages them to stick around even when things aren’t going so great.”

Read the full blog post here: “Country in Crisis: Looking to America’s Mayors to Rise to the Challenge”

Katy