From the co-chairs
the community has spoken.
Over the last two years, a team of nearly 1,000 volunteers has worked to understand the strengths and challenges of Southwest Ohio.
The research has been exhaustive, the voices wide-ranging and resonant, the desire for change contagious.
And that work is just the beginning.
From it developed six priorities for action: creating a quality place to live; growing businesses; developing a qualifi ed workforce; expanding our transportation options; being inclusive and welcoming; and encouraging our local governments to work together.
Now we must act. We must not let inertia keep us from competing with other metro areas for talented people, jobs and economic opportunity for all who call this region home.
We love this home. We have fierce civic pride, and we can, in detail and with vigor, describe why.
We aspire to be all that our proud history shows we can be.
But we also know we must not rest on that foundation of strength. We must continue to build on it, by acknowledging our challenges honestly and directly and fi nding solutions to our struggles. We must be focused on our future.
There is no better time for our community to be planning for its future. The dramatic turn in the nation's economy has created urgent calls for solutions. Metropolitan areas that have their priorities in line will be the ones to get state and federal money. They can then move forward with concrete plans that become models for other cities to emulate.
Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky can be a region that models success. And now we have a defi ned path for transforming it into a place that provides economic opportunity for all who call the region home. It's called Agenda 360.
Vice president emeritus, Miami University
Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC
President and CEO, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber