Commit to Excellence

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

An opinion piece in The New York Times highlighting Charleston, South Carolina’s long-time mayor offered yet another validation of how communities and community leaders are shaping the future of today’s turbulent world.

One quote especially resonated with me. When speaking of the annual Spoleto performing arts festival, Mayor Riley said “It forced the city to accept the responsibility of putting on something world-class.” Hosting big events and pursuing big goals, including those in the arena of economic development, causes your community to come together.

Leaders throughout the Columbus Region made a commitment to excellence by setting audacious goals on behalf of the area at the beginning of the decade, forcing the economic development system to adopt an aggressive growth mentality. Many of the current opportunities that the Columbus Region is pursuing could not have been imagined just four and a half years ago. The decisions facing our community are challenging, because our prospects are so positive and our goals are in sight.

Are you demanding excellence from your team, your organization and your community?

–Kenny McDonald

One Columbus Update

• Congratulations to Pier 1 Imports, UNI-FACS and Crimson Cup on their recently announced expansions, which collectively add more than 200 jobs to the Columbus Region.
• This week, the One Columbus team is hosting companies that are evaluating the Columbus Region.
• Next week, the team will host several journalists covering the innovations of the Region’s retail industry. We will also host the Brookings Institution as part of the foreign direct investment pilot program.