Recently, more than 350 members of the community joined CenterState CEO’s partner, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, for its 2016 annual meeting. At the event, keynote speaker Patrick L. Phillips, global CEO of the Urban Land Institute, highlighted how changing demographics, public policy, and public-service delivery improvements have come together to create new vitality and […]
Recently, more than 350 members of the community joined CenterState CEO’s partner, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, for its 2016 annual meeting. At the event, keynote speaker Patrick L. Phillips, global CEO of the Urban Land Institute, highlighted how changing demographics, public policy, and public-service delivery improvements have come together to create new vitality and opportunity for downtowns across the country.
This is true of downtown Syracuse’s revival as well. It wasn’t long ago that the voices of the skeptics were louder than the voices of downtown’s champions. However, perceptions shifted as more developers, city and county leaders, the business community, institutional leaders, arts organizations, and the state came together to change downtown’s story.
In his address, Phillips discussed how similar-sized downtowns across the country are experiencing a resurgence and how they are planning for the future by being flexible and innovative. This is a mindset we must adopt as we approach other major issues facing our community. The revitalization of downtown is important to our entire regional economy. Let’s continue to build on the foundation of progress and pursue a clear and unified vision to advances this trajectory of growth.
Downtown Awards of Excellence
The Downtown Committee’s annual meeting recognized accomplishments of the last year. Three downtown champions were honored for their commitment to growth, diversity, and continued revitalization throughout downtown Syracuse:
- The Urban Innovation Award: presented for a successful, trail-blazing activity in a previously underdeveloped facet of downtown Syracuse, was presented to the Wednesday Walk Series. The series promotes the healthy benefits of walking through guided tours highlighting various themes throughout downtown Syracuse, during lunchtime or early evenings. The innovative program is a collaborative effort among health-conscious community organizations.
- The Heart of Downtown Award: presented for efforts that positively impact how people feel about downtown Syracuse, was given to Mary Beth Roach, deputy commissioner of the Parks & Recreation Department of the City of Syracuse. As a true community leader, Mary Beth works tirelessly to provide a vibrant setting and high quality of life. She is instrumental behind the scenes of many of downtown’s major events, but also very visible throughout the events as well.
- The Perfect Partner Award: which recognizes individuals or organizations for advocacy efforts that positively impact downtown Syracuse, was presented to the Rescue Mission’s Gary Mann and Jim Tawley, as well as In My Father’s Kitchen’s John and Leigh-Ann Timuno. Each embodies the mission of their organizations to improve people’s lives through their commitment to changing the way outreach services are delivered to those living with mental illness, substance-abuse issues, or homelessness.
Robert M. (Rob) Simpson is president and CEO of CenterState CEO, the primary economic-development organization for Central New York. This editorial is drawn and edited from the “CEO Focus” email newsletter that the organization sent to members on June 24.