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HENRY LUKE-NEWSLETTER
#48
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LUKEVISION- Celebrating 22 years of building Community Vision, we now have links to Visions or Strategic Plans for over 50 communities or regions on our web site, including the communities above. Visit at http://www.lukevision.com/communities.htm WICHITA, KANSAS- The Kansas health Foundation has pledged $30 million to establish the Kansas Health Foundation Leadership Center. The center will open by the spring in downtown Wichita. The Wichita Eagle The International Downtown Association gave the Wichita Downtown Association an “Award of Merit” for Visioneering Wichita. Wichita Business Journal 9/23/05
In June 2005,
the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce created “Young Professionals of
Wichita” to recruit and retain young diverse talent through social and
professional interaction. There are now over 1,550 paid memberships.
“In the course of our Visioneering process, one of the biggest needs we
learned from parents and employers was a way to attract and keep our young
talent in Wichita:, said Harvey Sorensen, a partner with the firm of
Foulston, Siefkin LLP, and chairman of Visioneering Wichita.
“Young Professionals of Wichita” was launched to help implement this
strategy. LAKELAND, FLORIDA-By the end of January, Lakeland will have installed about forty cameras to provide a bird’s eye view of dozens of Lakeland roads. There will be 172 new controllers of green, yellow and red light that will allow individuals monitoring the cameras in a central location to control traffic flow based on actual traffic conditions. Eventually, Winter Haven and Polk County will have similar systems. Lakeland Ledger 11/5/05 DALTON,
GEORGIA-The
Education Revolution Alliance began its second year at a summit on October
20, 2005. They committed to establish the Career Academy as a 21st
Century model, align the curriculum in the Dalton and Whitfield County
School Systems, expand Dalton State College, and focus on family literacy.
CABARRUS
COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA- In
September 2005, David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Food, announced a new
350-acre biotechnology research campus at the site of the former Pillowtex
textile plant in Kannapolis, NC. He will partner with the University of
North Carolina and North Carolina State, which will operate research
facilities at the site. Mr. Murdock will underwrite a venture capital
fund of $100 million to finance start-up biotechnology companies. At one
time, 20,000 people worked at the mill and some 4,300 people lost their
jobs when the plants closed in July 2003. POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA-The Polk County Commission voted to increase property tax and create a municipal service Taxing District in unincorporated Polk County to reduce the infrastructure gap. Residents who live in unincorporated Polk County property taxes will increase by up to 23 % and within city limites-13%. Lakeland Ledger 9/16/05 Lakeland and Winter Haven will bridge the east-west divide in Polk County by partnering in the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. The competition will result in each city exhibiting 10 sculptures in March 2005. Lakeland Ledger 10/16/05 The Polk Health Care Alliance held its first annual conference, “Partnerships for a Healthier Polk”, on September 29, 2005 at the Chain of Lakes Complex in Winter Haven. Approximately 100 individuals from a variety of organizations attended. Speakers included representatives from the Primary Care Access Network in Orlando, Bill Grace from the Center for Ethical Leadership in Seattle, Representative Dean Cannon of Winter Park from the Florida House of Representatives and a panel of local professionals. SPOKANE, WASHINGTON-The latest available numbers suggest that Spokane County’s population growth this year might be gaining momentum over last years stepped-up process. Meanwhile, the state of Washington’s Office of Financial Management says population growth in Eastern Washington in 2003 and 2004 outpaced growth in Western Washington. Until 2003, that hadn’t happened since 1996. People who are moving to Spokane generally are looking for more affordable housing and higher quality of life, says Rich Hadley, president and CEO of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce. Says Hadley, “People are primarily moving here from congested parts of the country. They’re finding they can live here and be as connected to the global marketplace as if they were in a congested area, while enjoying the natural assets this region has to offer.” He notes that Popular Science magazine recently ranked Spokane as No. 2 in medical technology on its list of high-tech cities, and says that as this region becomes more well-known for being at the cutting edge of such key areas, it will be an increasingly popular area in which to live and work. Additionally, Hadley says, international immigration is growing, probably because of the availability of the higher-education and health-care segments of the Spokane area’s economy. Another trend that Hadley believes is contributing to population growth is the return of people who formerly lived here. He says people who grew up or went to college here and then moved away are coming back. They’re already familiar with Spokane and return to either locate their businesses here or to retire here, he says. The Journal of Business 9/1/05 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA-In March 2006, Jet Blue Airways will join Southeast in providing low cost air service from the Richmond International Airport. RUTHERFORD COUNTY,
NORTH CAROLINA-On November 10,
2005, there was a one-day grant writing course at Isothermal Community
College Small Business Center. ROANOKE, VIRGINIA- In 2000, in Roanoke, Virginia, the Carilion Biomedical Center was formed to turn medical device research into reality. The Carilion Healthcare System, Virginia Tech University and the University of Virginia were the founders of the Institute. Ideas are provided by the universities, and practical feasibility is assessed by the Carilion Heathcare doctors and staff. In June 2005, ground was broken on a 110-acre business park in downtown Roanoke that will be the future home of the Biomedical Institute. The Institute has used national SBIR grants of $100,000 for Phase I feasibility studies and $750,000 for Phase II for further development. Visit their web site at www.biomedicalinstitute.com JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA-In April 2005, the City of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and Worksource were founding partners that created “Blueprint for Prosperity….Increasing the Per Capita Income of Duval County Residents”. The involvement of over 1,000 citizens to date has resulted in the draft “Blueprint”. See www.blueprintforprosperity.com for the entire process and the draft. LUFKIN, TEXAS-In July 2005, the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce led a group of organizations that created Angelina County Vision 2020. Four sessions of the Task Force began on November 8, 2005 and a draft Vision will be available on January 6, 2006. See www.angelinacountyvision2020.com TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA-The “Challenge 21” Friday Facts, November 4. 2005 has link to “State Level Education Benchmarks and Benefits of College Education” at www.challenge21.org . Of special interest is the US Department of Education release of the four-year graduation rate for 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. In 2002-2003, the US graduation rate was 73.9%...up form 72.6% in 2001-2002. Fourteen states were over 80% in 2002-2003 and eight state were below 65%. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006601 FORTUNE-July 11,2005-Must read article “Can Americans Compete in the Relentless, Global Tech-driven, Cost-Cutting Struggle for Business?” THE WORLD IS FLAT- This is a must read book by Thomas Friedman for anyone interested in the US position in global economy. PROCESS MANAGERS MEETING- On March 22-24, 2006 in Lakeland, Florida, we will have the 4th annual meeting of Vision Process Managers. The meeting will be jointly hosted by Lakeland Vision and Polk Vision. Subscribe/Unsubscribe…Subscribe to this free e-mail newsletter by e-mailing Click Here. Subject: Subscribe; Message: full name, title, organization, address, & phone. We encourage your forwarding this newsletter to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, e-mail your name and the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line. We will promptly remove your name from our list. However, you may have received the newsletter through forwarding and we do not have your name. Newsletter Archives | Home Page Community
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