Northeast Indiana Mayors & Commissioners Form Caucus, Endorse The Big Goal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 28, 2012
Northeast Indiana Mayors & Commissioners Form Caucus, Endorse The Big Goal
Collaborative Leadership Efforts Gain Momentum in the Region
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A press conference was held today, June 28, 2012, to announce the formation of a joint caucus of the mayors and commissioners of Northeast Indiana. The caucus provides a forum to work collaboratively on policy issues of common interest. This collaboration is essential to advance public policy critical to the goal of transforming the economy of the region through their leadership. Along with announcing the formation of the caucus today, they also publicly signed the founding documents and endorsed The Big Goal-the regions effort to increase the number of residents in Northeast Indiana with high quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025.
The formation of this caucus is one of the direct results from a trip that 36 community leaders took to Denver last year to learn from their regional economic development and collaborative leadership efforts. Three elected officials participated in the Regional Leadership Experience 2012 and led the initial effort to form the caucus: Mayor Terry McDonald of New Haven, Indiana; Mayor Dick Hickman of Angola, Indiana; and Allen County Commissioner Therese Brown.
"This is bold leadership by the mayors and commissioners of Northeast Indiana," said Mayor Richard Hickman from Angola. "We have come to fully embrace the power of building trust and collaborative leadership with our fellow elected officials which is essential to solve today's community challenges and grow our regional economy."
The Northeast Indiana Regional Workforce Investment Board, the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership also assisted in convening the mayors and commissioners to establish this caucus.
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership spearheads the regional visioning initiative Vision 2020, which established The Big Goal as one of the top seven priorities for the region at the end of last year. The Partnership is currently convening leaders, establishing metrics and launching a communications campaign to increase awareness and engagement in achieving The Big Goal. The Strive Network out of Cincinnati, Ohio, which has led similar efforts in cities across the country, has also been engaged to accelerate efforts on this priority.
"The mission of our region is to develop, attract and retain talent. This is the most urgent challenge we are facing as community leaders to assure businesses can grow and create 21st Century jobs," emphasized Commissioner Therese Brown from Allen County. "We have committed to work together as elected officials throughout Northeast Indiana to advance and sustain our efforts to achieve The Big Goal."
To view high resolution photos from the event, visit www.NEIndiana.com/news-media/media-photos.
About Vision 2020 & Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership was formed in 2006 to help build a globally competitive economy in Northeast Indiana. It is a public-private partnership focused on generating business leads and building regional capacity through product development and effective regional collaboration. In 2010, the Partnership launched Vision 2020 to bring the region together around five key areas for economic growth: 21st Century Talent, Competitive Business Climate, Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure and Quality of Life. Through its combined efforts in business development and capacity building, the Partnership supports its 10 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Courtney Tritch
Director of Marketing
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.469.3460
courtney@NEIndiana.com
