Our community is on quite a roll. There are many factors at play which contribute to the forward progress that is happening in Grand Island and awareness of where we stand as a community in comparison to our peers is key among them. There has been intentional action taken in recent years to solidify our standing amongst our peers and I am thrilled to witness the engagement and energy of many organizations and individuals as they step up to move us forward.
The above-the-surface-progress is easy to quantify and you can put your eyes on it while driving around town. The Conestoga Marketplace and Legacy 34 are big new retail and housing projects that are hard to miss. You might have to look a little harder to find others, such as the new speakeasy downtown, Henry J’s.
The City of Grand Island’s purchase of Camp Augustine and plans surrounding it is a peek inside of the mindset of the forward thinking of our community. This purchase is a great example of the type of investments we are making in ourselves, investments in infrastructure and services that are foundational for growth. This example provides experiences for those who live here and serves as attractions for those who will become a part of Grand Island.
Visitors to Grand Island notice these things, and it has been pointed out to me from outsiders that they are pleasantly surprised at the vitality of Grand Island in comparison to similar communities our size across the country.
In contrast, some of our accomplishments are below the surface and harder to quantify. The City of Grand Island is taking a holistic approach to growing the community and looking at different ways it can support growth. We have an exciting and comprehensive new branding campaign, Simply Grand, to better tell our community’s story. This is a collaboration of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce and Grand Island Tourism. We are seeing great utilization of the facilities on the Fonner Park campus for livestock and other shows and the City of Grand Island will have an opportunity to revisit the potential for the Heartland Events Center next year.
The Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce is undergoing some changes of our own. After twenty years at the helm, our President, Cindy Johnson, has decided that it is time to step down from her role. Cindy has devoted much energy and shown great passion in her quest to promote and showcase Grand Island. Of her many accomplishments, her role in the community’s effort to bring the State Fair to Grand Island is among the most notable. We could dedicate a lot of space to past accomplishments, but in the spirit of forward momentum we must focus on future opportunities. Your chamber is dedicated to finding a dynamic leader and is currently undertaking a nationwide search to find our next President. We will take this opportunity to examine what we do and how we do it and find ways to improve upon what has been accomplished over the past two decades.
While we do have a lot of progress to celebrate, we need to maintain our focus and continue to support growth initiatives and those organizations, both public and private, that champion our community. Grand Island is emerging again as a hub city, and we are alert to opportunities. Our responsibility as residents and leaders is to embrace these opportunities and be part of the forward momentum. This may be best accomplished by encouraging collaboration and communication and coming together to support our communities’ best interests when necessary. Great things are on the horizon, and I want to express my gratitude to all of you for everything you do to contribute to our forward momentum.
