Happiness lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
-President Franklin D. Roosevelt
First of all, how about those Buckeyes?! They have achieved something great for themselves, The Ohio State University, the state of Ohio and the entire Columbus Region – and they aren’t done yet! Their winning effort in the Sugar Bowl was the culmination of a season in which they faced adversity, had highs and lows, and worked every day to improve as a team to reach their goals. What a great example for all of us as we begin the 2015 year of work.
Predictions about 2015 from both government and business leaders are quite optimistic. I am struck by articles like the Wall Street Journal’s “Bring on 2015 – We’re Ready and Hopeful.” In 2014, the national theme seemed to be “if only we could.” In 2015, the theme seems to be “we can, if…” If we work hard, work together and catch a few breaks.
As we enter the second half of the decade, we are more enthusiastic than ever about generating opportunities for residents of the 11-county Columbus Region. We are more committed than ever to helping local companies grow, attracting market leading companies to the Region, and accelerating entrepreneurial ideas into thriving businesses ventures.
The One Columbus team is diving right into the new year with plans to visit businesses in California, Japan, Germany, Brazil and China in the first 150 days of the year. We will be in Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Detroit and Chicago regularly. We will also be working closely with local business leaders and helping them connect to local, state and global resources so that they can continue to grow our economic foundation.
We are excited to host business leaders at the NHL All-Star Game and throughout the Blue Jackets’ run to the playoffs. We will enjoy the #NewCrew as spring arrives and we will again entertain at the best PGA event on tour, the Memorial Tournament in Dublin. At the end of May we will host the first ever Trust Belt conference, which will bring leaders from all over the Midwest to the Columbus Region. We will launch a comprehensive trade and investment strategy to accelerate foreign investment and to aid our local companies with growth plans around the world. Perhaps most importantly, we will work with our community allies and business leaders to update our the One Columbus plan for the next five years.
Our region will continue to generate and attract top talent. Transportation, utility and communications infrastructure will be built to open up arteries of growth and development. Our companies will enter new markets around the world, and they will build their supply chains to and from the Columbus Region.
The Columbus Region is thriving, and like our Buckeyes – we aren’t done yet! We can achieve great things in 2015 by working together to meet the challenges that are sure to come our way. Thank you to all of our One Columbus investors for your support and encouragement during the first half of the decade and leading into the second. It is greatly appreciated.
–Kenny McDonald