News

Joining 500 business and community leaders from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean at the recent Super Regional Leadership Conference, the members of Leadership Orlando Class 79 and Class 80 were among the first to learn the results of a new study – Connecting for Global Competitiveness: Tampa Bay-Central Florida Super Region – which examines the power and potential of working together.

Rather than maintaining the current trend, public, private and civic leaders are poised to move from being “big fish in little ponds” to excel as “big fish in an even bigger pond!’  First referenced in The Galveston Daily News, June 1881 – "They [local vested interests in Galveston] are big fish in a small pond" – the phrase is often used to convey the degree of ambition a person holds.  Today, Central Floridians have the tools to make ambitious decisions about the future of our Super Region.

A Window of Opportunity
“New Investments in high speed rail and local transit in Tampa Bay and Central Florida are an opportunity to create a Super Region that will be competitive with leading regional economies in the United States and in Europe, Japan, Korea, and China.  However the benefits of transportation investment are not automatic.  Unless land use, conservation and other development policies are changed to take advantage of the transportation initiatives, the region could face an unsustainable future.”

Connecting for Global Competitiveness:
Florida’s Super Region

Beginning today and looking ahead to the year 2050, leaders across Central Florida can realistically imagine the economic power of leveraging and linking their combined Regional Assets:  Accommodations, Attractions, Aviation, Economic Centers, Education and the Environment – documented for the first time in this report.

With the Super Region’s population projected to double from 7.2 million today to 14.4 million in 2050, the study predicts an alternative that can change the status quo resulting in:

As a leader in your company and in our region, these types of cutting-edge research are available to you through Leadership Orlando.  With a 35-year reputation for “connecting and engaging” community leaders, Leadership Orlando provides information and access about current trends and future possibilities. 

If you have been looking for the “right” time to participate in Leadership Orlando, or know someone who should be in the room for these discussions, now is indeed the perfect time to be a part of America’s largest Community Leadership program, Leadership Orlando.  Preparing for the future of our region is up to each of us.  Now is the time to learn about the issues, participate in the difficult conversations and help in guiding our future. 

Enrollment is currently underway for Class 80, scheduled to begin in September.  Space is limited, so don’t delay!  The online enrollment form and the full schedule may be accessed at www.orlando.org/leadership.  Should you have questions, contact Kathy Panter at 407.835.2499 or via email at Kathy.Panter@ideastoresults.org.

About Leadership Orlando
Developing regional leaders is important to the future success of the Central Florida Region. That is why “Regional Leadership” is a primary line of business for the Central Florida Partnership.  With over thirty years of proven success, Leadership Orlando, America’s largest “Community Leadership Program,” continues to encourage, cultivate and recruit emerging leaders to better serve the Central Florida Region. 

Working together with Orlando, Inc. (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) focused on Regional Entrepreneurship, BusinessForce (Public Policy Advocacy), and myregion.org (Regional Research & Resolves), the Central Florida Partnership is moving “Ideas to Results.”

Click here to learn more about Leadership Orlando
Click here for a listing of the 2010 Leadership Team