Matt Stull Remarks, Oct. 6th - Mayors' Leadership Luncheon

It goes by many names: Kentuckiana, Greater Louisville, the Ohio Valley.

In other places it’s the Inland Empire, the First Coast… the Tri-State, the Bi-State… the Tri-Cities, the Quad Cities… even Arklatex and Tuckessee.

What I’m talking about here is Regionalism. And while most of those creative terms are the products of radio disc jockeys and television weather people… they are all that pass for regionalism in many places across this country.

But I’m here today to tell you that there are people working in this community to ensure that regionalism here is more than just a “not-so-catchy” name.

For the last several months I have been fortunate enough to work alongside some of this community’s most talented and committed leaders as part of Leadership Louisville’s Bingham Fellows program.

Our task is simple: to get more people than ever here thinking about how we can go “Beyond Boundaries” to cooperatively achieve greater things for us and for our children.

And I’m here today to ask for your support in the first step of a new way of thinking regionally in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

In one month, the Bingham Fellows will partner with Wired 65 workforce initiative to host “Beyond Boundaries”, a regional summit aimed at laying the foundation for Building our 21st Century Community.

After an evening reception at the Kentucky Center on November 6, the summit will begin in earnest on Friday, November 7 at the Galt House with a presentation of findings by TIP Strategies… the first part of a process leading toward a Regional Competitiveness Strategy for the 26 counties included in the Wired 65 grant.

TIP has conducted extensive research on where we stand in regard to educational attainment, our current job market, and the job market of the future.

Their findings will emphasize that talent, innovation, and place are the key elements of success for regions.

Our main speaker for the day will be Rebecca Ryan of Next Generation Consulting. In a word… Rebecca is dynamic.

She knows how to attract and keep the young professionals that are key to every region’s long term success… and she’ll be here to share that advice.

In addition, best practices from other regional experiences will be shared and we’ll take time to network and build common ground among diverse, rural and urban segments of the region.

Countless hours have been spent by the Bingham Fellows to make this first Beyond Boundaries summit a success.

But whether or not the summit becomes a meaningful, sustainable event is up to you. I ask you not only to attend on November 7… but to encourage others to attend as well.

You may register at our website… beyond-dash-boundaries-dot-org. Or you can find a link for registration on the Leadership Louisville home page.

And if you are really excited about Beyond Boundaries… we’ll be more than happy to accept sponsorship help. Please see us outside at the registration table after today’s event if you are interested in that opportunity.

I’ll finish with one of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Franklin. When faced with the prospect of King George’s army… he said “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

Now I’m not saying that circumstances here are quite that dire… but we Bingham Fellows contend that there’s a need for a “Regional Revolution”… to set up our children and their children for future success here in this area.

But that’s only possible if we “hang together”.

Thank you for your time…. And we’ll see you next month.