Newsletter

LUKEVISION- Celebrating 20 years of building Community Vision, we now have links to Visions or Strategic Plans for 51 communities or regions on our web site, including the communities below. Visit at http://www.lukevision.com/communities.htm

DANVILLE, VA-Virginia Business has an excellent article "Rebuilding Danville". This south central Virginia community has lost textile and tobacco jobs, but is rebuilding using technology and the creation of human capital. The article said that the rebuilding got under way about eight years ago. Danville City and Pittslyvania County had a population of 110,156 in the 2000 census. http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr2003/apr03/danville.shtml  The Wilmington Star also described a $17 million investment for an Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and $2 million in a fiber-optic cable network called the "eDan" Network. http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73130637243406&Avis=WM&Dato=20030329&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=203290332&Ref=AR

MEMPHIS, TN-For the 6^th year in a row, Memphis 2005 exceeded its strategic goal of over $1 billion announced investment in private sector projects.

Memphis is in the process of developing a long-term brand. The Memphis Chamber of Commerce, City of Memphis and Shelby County recently completed a project to explore the challenge of attracting young knowledge workers to Memphis. It has a strong branding component. Read about it by clicking here http://www.memphischamber.com/Final_TalentMagnetReportv4.pdf

CURACAO, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES-The Washington Times posted a special report on Curacao on September 5, 2002. http://www.internationalreports.net/theamericas/curacao/2002/index.html

In 2002, the Dutch government made available $667,000 US dollars for pilot projects of Strategic Alliances of Antillean and Dutch companies. Sixteen companies applied and three are close to launching pilot projects: Aloe Plantation and the Dutch Pharmaceutical Company will produce aloe extract; Ecolodges-a hotel consisting of lodges that are self-sufficient in terms of water and electric supply- the total plan is for 549 ecolodges; and two companies processing construction waste to reduce landfill buildup.

UNION COUNTY, NC-development of Union Vision 2020 began in June 1999 and implementation in January 2000. January 30, 2003, Vision 2020 had their third year Implementation Meeting and presented their annual report. The report reviews the progress on the Key Benchmarks and accomplishment in the six foundation areas: Education, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Quality of Life, Private Sector Leadership and Government. Highlight areas are dramatic continued decline in the violent crime rate to ½ of the North Carolina rate; the Poverty Rate continuing its decline to 65% of the North Carolina and US rate; improvement in dollars per capita committed for infrastructure investment; and improvement in communications infrastructure. (E-mail mail@lukevision.com for a copy of the report)

ST. JOHNS, FL- St. Johns Vision has revised their web page. It now includes the minutes of Alliance, Implementation Team and Steering Committee meetings. They are preparing for their 1^st annual implementation meeting and annual report on May 19, 2003.   http://www.stjohnsvision.com/  

DALTON, GA-Seven years ago, hundreds of Whitfield County citizens helped develop "Target Tomorrow-Creating Our Community’s Future". A recent review of Target Tomorrow produced 20 strategies as already accomplished. Ann Kuzniak, Chairman of Target Tomorrow, said, "By checking off accomplishments to date, and prioritizing the remaining strategies, we’re fine-tuning the document, based on today’s realities in our community." http://www.targettomorrow.com/

HAMPTON ROADS, VA- Hampton Roads is the brand name for the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, & Newport News MSA. With a population of 1.6 million, it is the 4^th largest MSA in the southeast.

Port Warwick is a "Smart Growth" urban village with a cozy town square. It is a neighborhood of mixed uses where people can live, work and play. The $150 million development relies on high densities and multiple uses. http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr2003/apr03/ccim2.shtml

Oyster Point Town Center is a $300 million mixed-use development. It gives a big boost to the Oyster Point Business Park being recognized as the downtown for Newport News. The 52-acre project employs "new-urbanism" planning around a five-acre lake. http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr2003/apr03/ccim3.shtml

MINOT, ND-"Review, revise and refocus" are three key words when it comes to Minot and Ward County’s "Visioning for Our Future". The process began five years ago in the summer of 1998 and has had many notable achievements and is continuing. http://visioning.minotchamber.org/

Two efforts are underway to extend Strategic Planning from Ward County into the Northwest North Dakota Region. Northwest Venture Communities, Inc. began in the spring of 2002 and includes eight counties. It’s focus is to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life. Initial funding is from the Northwest Area Foundation http://www.nvci.org/

Dr. Rod Hewlett, Dean of the College of Business at Minot State University is leading a regional economic development effort. A comprehensive plan for growth will be ready for implementation in August 2003. A unique part of the plan will be the creation of a $200 million fund for regional job development. http://www.minotstateu.edu/business/Visioning_a_Future_for_North_Dakota_2_15_03.ppt

RICHMOND, VA-At Ginter Park Elementary School, the percentage of pupils that are reading on grade level has doubled from about 30% to 60% in the last three years. They have used individual tutoring and small-group remedial sessions to bring about this remarkable improvement. At Ginter Park, 82% are eligible for free or reduce-priced lunches.

The Richmond Times Dispatch-12/19/02

Two years ago, Richmond, Virginia chose as a brand "The Historic Richmond Region is Easy to Love". Click below for a March 2003 magazine article about the brands development and implementation steps by nine organizations. http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr2003/mar03/richmond.shtml

RUTHERFORD, NC-On April 8-11, 2003, 150 individuals participated in beginning Implementation Teams for six strategies. They included: accelerating four-laning Highway 221; marketing & creation of jobs; business involvement in the school system; establishing an arts, parks & recreation master plan; consolidation of government services, and grantsmanship training. http://www.thedigitalcourier.com/articles/2003/04/15/news/news01.txt

LAKELAND, FL-On March 30, 2003, the Lakeland Ledger published the Metro Lakeland Vision 2002 Annual Report. In an article on April 8, 2002, the Ledger said, "the progress can be measured because the Vision committee adopted benchmarks…Five years have elapsed since Lakeland Vision was formed. To come this far demonstrated the success of its original goal: Don’t put the initial report on a shelf to gather dust." http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2003304080328

CABARRUS COUNTY, NC-Widening of eight miles of I-85, one of Cabarrus County’s priority infrastructure projects is underway. The $87.7 million project will be completed three years early by using a design/build approach.

The Charlotte Observer-11/14/02

YAKIMA, WA-Yakima County’s twelve-month change in employment turned positive in September 2002 and has continued positive through February 2003. The Washington State twelve-month change in employment did not turn positive until January 2003 after losing jobs from May 2001 until December 2002. However, the Yakima unemployment rate remains high at 12.2% in February 2003. Labor Market and Economic Analysis

RALEIGH, NC-Places Rated Almanac ranked the Research Triangle as the #1 "City for Education" out of 354 cities.

Triangle Business Journal-2/27/03

ST. LUCIE, FL-PGA Village will soon be home to a 14-field $8 million youth baseball complex that could attract thousand of tourists to the area.

The Tribune-12/19/02

CLAYTON COUNTY, GA-the Clayton County Public School System has spent $7.9 million to provide every teacher a laptop computer.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution-12/19/02

PENSACOLA AND BAY COUNTY/PANAMA CITY, FL-Advertising, cool winters and low prices have helped to extend the season on the Emerald Coast to the entire year.

The Florida Times-Union-12/2/02

PAST COMMUNITY VISIONING REPORTS, the Community Strategic Planning Process, and client web sites can be reviewed from the menu below. Luke Planning, Inc. provides facilitation for Community Vision and Community Strategic Planning. Please forward this newsletter to anyone who may have an interest in these topics.

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Henry Luke

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