I was honored to be part of a panel discussion with Marilyn Strickland, President CEO of the Seattle Chamber and Vicky Baxter, CEO President of the Renton Chamber at the Renton Economic Forecast last Wednesday. Questions revolved around regional issues we are all concerned about. Transportation, education, housing, industry, jobs, inclusion, and diversity. I think we all became very aware that the world is getting smaller, that we have much more in common than we ever have. We spoke about recruiting businesses to the region from across the nation and in fact from around to world. Promoting our strengths in that each of our communities is unique with much to offer.
The reality is that people choose where to live based on quality of life, schools, and housing affordability. That we are willing to commute, however, we would prefer not to. The fact is that all of us need to promote our unique strengths and work with our local government and school districts to ensure we are building the right mix of jobs, housing, and education that will support a live, work, play lifestyle that our business owners and employees desire.
As part of a regional economy there are opportunities to work together to share information, opportunities, and challenges. I look forward to working with Marilyn, Vicky and other Chamber CEO’s to champion solutions for our community. My thanks again to the Renton Chamber for inviting me to be part of this panel. It was an excellent economic summit!