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From YouTube: Columbus Connection 05 04 17
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A
Welcome
to
Columbus
connections:
I
am
your
host
David
Britt!
Now
you
may
have
heard
of
Columbus
2025
you
may
not
have
you
know
that
Columbus
has
a
lot
of
great
things
going
on
and
we're
just
focused
on
where
we're
going
to
be
in
the
future.
Now
I
have
with
me
mr.
Billy
Blanchard
and
he's
a
part
of
this
great
community
he's
great
folks
that
are
taking
Columbus
to
2025
and
looking
at
how
we
can
put
Columbus
in
that
next
level
in
that
next
category,
but
welcome
to
the
show
thank.
A
B
B
He
moved
to
Holmes
from
Ohio
and
when
he
got
to
Columbus
he
he
kind
of
just
watched
and
looked
at
our
economic
development
activity
and
process
and
and
really
began
to
raise
his
hand,
say
I,
think
we
need
a
new
strategy,
we
need
them,
freshen
it
up
a
little
bit
and-
and
we
started
listening
to
him
and
kind
of
hearing
what
he
was
saying,
and
then
it
became
pretty
evident
that
he
was
right.
If
you
go
back
about
10
years
or
so
before
he
started
raising
his
hand.
B
We
did
an
economic
development
strategy,
we
used
a
guy
named
Mack
Holliday
from
Market
Street
services,
and
but
it
was
in
early
2000s
right
and
it
focused
mostly
on
our
products
like
land
or
buildings.
It
was
pretty
simple
and
it
worked
well
for
us
for
a
while.
We
had
some
success,
attracting
industry
growing
jobs,
but
the
truth
of
the
matter
is
is
that
the
world
changed
during
the
and
economic
development
age
as
well,
and
it
became
more
important
to
really
look
at
them.
Will
a
broader
approach
to
economic
development?
A
B
Adding
you
and
how
do
you
have
a
total
package
as
a
community
that
would
make
people
want
to
live
here
and
if
people
are
willing
to
live
here,
that
businesses
are
going
to
be
here
and
use
those
people
as
their
workforce.
So
so
that's
what
the
new
strategy
needed
to
be
about
and
Bill
saw
that,
and
he
really
pressed
on
the
community
to
take
that
step
right
in.
A
B
Fantastic
I
mean
it's
a
lot
of
fun,
one,
it's
a
real,
honor
and
privilege
to
be
able
to
part
of
it.
It
is
a
wonderful
group
of
people
that
represent
a
diverse
part
of
our
community
and
really
what
we
did
was
we
went
out
and
actually
hired
Matt
Holliday
again
right
to
come
into
the
community
again
for
the
second
time
and
help
us
build
a
strategy
and
and
from
that
we
put
together
this
incredible
team
of
people
who
sat
on
a
committee
to
help,
but
it
together
that's.
A
B
Well,
that's
an
interesting
question
because
I
think
to
really
know
what
you
need
to
do
and
how
to
be
the
best
best
version
of
yourself.
You
really
have
to
know
what
the
truth
is
and
what
the
facts
are,
and
you
really
have
to
know
who
you
are
and
one
of
the
most
critical
steps
of
this
process
that
Mack
walked
us
through
was
a
community
assessment
and
when
I
say
community
is
a
regional
assessment.
B
It
was
not
just
Columbus
itself
but
Phoenix
Edie,
Harris
County,
the
surrounding
counties,
the
metro
area
that
we
that
we
look
to
so
Mac
and
his
team
walked
us
through
an
assessment
to
really
define
who
we
are,
and
he
used
focus
groups.
People
in
the
community
surveys
that
a
lot
of
folks
in
the
community
responded
to
interviews.
But
beyond
that
digging
in
and
getting
a
hold
of
a
lot
of
data,
and
we.
B
B
Were
some
key
findings
that
we
that
we
started
with
I
walk
through
a
couple
of
them
where
dinner?
But
you
know
one
of
them
was
just
looking
at
population
growth
and
the
job
growth
in
this
region.
If
you
look
at
the
population
growth
and
we
look
from
1970
to
around
2013-
or
so
we
grew
about
24%
in
this
metro
area.
B
When
you
look
at
61
metro
areas
around
the
southeast,
we
were
number
58
so
and
so
we
weren't
really
high
on
the
list
from
a
population
growth
standpoint,
our
job
growth
was
1.7
percent
in
a
10-year
period
that
started
in
2005.
So
in
that
last
10-year
period
we
grew
jobs,
1.7
percent,
which
of
the
nine
key
communities
we
compared
ourselves
against
in
the
southeast.
That
was
number
eight,
and
so
we
weren't
really
growing
jobs
either.
B
B
County
Talbot,
County
and
so
and
and
to
add
to
that
poverty
rate,
one
in
three
children,
often
poverty
in
our
community
and
in
this
region.
So
that's
33%.
So
those
are
some
things
that
were
pretty
shocking
for
us
to
see.
We
also
realized
that,
from
a
job
growth
standpoint,
some
of
the
larger
companies
that
we
are
so
fortunate
to
have
in
our
community-
let's
say
an
i5
core,
TCS
or
Synovus,
and
even
some
larger
private
companies.
B
They
have
not
been
able
to
be
the
driver
of
employment
growth
over
the
last
10
years,
like
they
have
maybe
10
or
20
before
that,
and
so
we
needed
a
more
diverse
base
of
job
growth
and
economic
growth
in
the
in
the
area
and,
unfortunately,
what
we
found
was
from
an
entrepreneurial
standpoint.
We
weren't
getting
it
there.
When
you
compare
with
other
communities,
we
had
a
smaller
percentage
of
businesses
that
were
identified
as
self-employed,
and
we
had
a
smaller
percentage
of
our
workforce
working
in
companies
that
were
5
years
old
or
younger.
B
Then
in
the
communities
we
compared
against,
and
so
we
learned
a
lot
about
the
economic
reality
of
what
we're
dealing
with
yeah.
What
were
some
of
the
good
things
that
yeah
there's
a
lot
of
great
things.
One
great
thing
is:
is
that
the
community,
particularly
Muscogee
County?
Now
it's
very
supportive
of
its
public
education
system.
Most
of
the
students
who
are
eligible
to
be
in
the
public
school
system
are
in
the
public
school
system.
The
community
felt
very
positive
about
the
school
system.
B
Seeing
a
lot
of
improvement
is
some
of
the
key
metrics
like
graduation
rate,
some
of
the
schools
that
have
been
old,
failing
school
lists
or
moving
off
of
those
lists.
There
were
some
challenges
with
that
and
I
know
we're
talking
about
positives,
but
just
as
a
side
note,
you
know
the
students
who
graduate
from
this
region
fewer
of
them,
go
to
the
next
level
of
education
than
they
do
coming
out
of
these
other
communities
and
those
who
do
a
team
at
a
lower
level
than
the
students
who
come
out
of
some
of
these
other
communities.
B
We
compare
it
again.
So
that's
a
challenge,
but
but
this
is
a
very
philanthropic
community
from
a
positive
standpoint,
there
are
a
lot
of
Champions
who
get
really
involved
and
the
things
that
are
going
on
here
and
provide
a
great
source
of
leadership
to
get
things
done
is
a
great
quality
of
life.
The
respondents
to
the
surveys
and
the
interviews,
people
we'll
just
really
like
living
here,
meaning
it's
a
good
place
to
live.
There's
a
lot
to
do
and
in
the
quality
of
life
is
high
and
then
and
then
maybe
most
importantly,
is
forbidding.
B
A
I
really
I
really
like
that
that
people
care
that
you've
seen
these
things,
these
honest
things
that
we're
low
in
poverty,
we're
we're
low
in
jobs
and
growth
and
that
people
actually
want
to
do
something
about
it
right,
and
that
seems
like
an
obvious
thing
like
why?
Wouldn't
we,
but
so
so
so
often
lose
those
people
who
are
in
that
in
those
situations
they
get,
that
feeling
of
I've
heard
it
so
many
times.
I'll
Columbus
doesn't
care
this
ain't
the
place
you
want
to
be.
That
comes
from
those
things.
A
So
when,
when
you
got
when
you're
looking
at
you
know,
you're
doing
this
2025
a
big
part
of
that
to
bring
the
jobs
in
making
this
a
vibrant
slave
working
on
the
brand
identity.
That
lifts
the
spirit
of
Columbus
to
that
that
lives
that
morale.
That
lifts.
That
thing
that
that
that
cloud,
that
people
that
cast
that
negative
life
yeah
so
I'm
glad
that
so
many
of
our
leaders
actually
are
caring
and
working
toward.
You
know
doing
something
about
I.
Think.
B
You're
absolutely
right
and
it
was
fun
to
watch
this
group
evolve
to
this
process
and
the
passion
that
that
came
around
in
in
everybody
toward
do
something
about
it.
I'm,
like
you
talk
about
I,
mean
to
want
to
engage
in
some
activity
that
actually
changes
the
situation
and
what
we
talked
about
a
lot
of
couple
things.
We
talked
about
the
fact
that
what
we're
doing
is
not
you
know,
beautifying
a
community,
it's
not
building.
C
A
B
Not
all
that
stuff,
it's
about
people
and
it's
about
helping
people
change
the
station
that
they
are
in
in
life
and
creating
an
environment
that
allows
them
to
do
that,
and
so
it's
it's
it's
a
transformative
process
and
the
folks
who
are
involved
in
doing
it
right
now
are
really
excited
about
it
and
excited
to
contribute
to
to
doing
that
their
there
came
out
of
this
three
overarching
themes.
Okay,
that
everything
we
do.
B
We
want
them
to
affect
one
of
these
three
three
things:
improving
the
quality
of
life
for
everybody
who
lives
in
the
region;
reducing
poverty
and
increasing
prosperity.
So
there's
three
pretty
powerful
things
that
Big
Ideas
their
big
dreams,
but
everything
we're
doing
on
a
strategic
level
is
geared
towards
having
an
impact
on
one
of
those
three
things
so.
A
B
Well,
maybe
the
best
way
to
do
is
just
tell
you
a
little
bit
about
what
the
strategy
looks
like
yeah
and
how
it's
broken
up.
We're
calling
it
we're
saying
that
we
have
five
action
areas
that
we
want
to
address
and
we
call
them
action
areas
going
back
to
our
last
comment,
because
we
won't
actually
do
something
right.
One
of
the
things
we
said
over
and
over
is
we
all
build,
a
strategy
that
we
can
all
read,
feel
really
good
about
the
put.
B
Has
to
be
actionable,
and
so
the
action
areas
is
five
of
them.
One
of
them
is
talented
and
educated
people,
and
this
is
a
huge
piece
of
this
strategy.
This
is
about
bringing
together
the
education
components
of
this
region
and
the
workforce
development
pieces
of
this
region
and
bringing
them
to
a
point
where
they
can
create
programs
and
a
process
that
we're
calling
a
cradle
to
career
process.
B
Where
you
can,
you
can
get
young
kids
in
school
at
the
right
time
to
go
to
school,
with
the
right
amount
of
learning
and
education
already
that
they
get
from
their
family
at
home
or
from
a
daycare
or
early
learning
center.
And
then
you
keep
them
in
school
through
these
critical
points,
whether
it
be
through
middle
school
and
then
through
high
school
and
get
them
to
a
point
where
they
can
get
credentialed
in
some
way.
B
For
some
people,
that's
going
to
college
for
some
people,
s
go
to
Technical
College,
get
a
skill
set
or
a
train
to
learn
a
trade,
but
get
them
credentialed.
So
they
can
be
ready
to
go
to
work,
and
so
you've
got
us
cradle
to
career
approach.
It's
vitally
important:
it's
huge
it's
a
huge
body
of
work,
so
Jackie
Lo
is
a
retired
executive
from
Georgia
power.
She
is
responsible
for
that
action
area
and
she's
got
folks
from
the
education
community
from
workforce
development
areas.
B
People
who
work
in
the
industry
trying
to
figure
out
how
you
collaborate
to
build
a
cradle
to
career
program,
that
is,
to
build
a
local
workforce
tonight
to
grow
our
workforce.
That's
a
long
term
process
right
right
and
so
at
the
same
time,
we're
doing
that.
We
have
to
be
able
to
address
the
needs
of
the
businesses
that
are
in
our
community
today
and
so,
whether
they're
our
workforce
gaps.
B
B
So
that's
the
workforce
piece
and
it's
targeted,
II
and
excuse
me:
it's
talented
and
educated
people
there's
a
targeted
economic
development
group
as
well,
and
that
action
group
is
focusing
more
on
the
traditional
economic
development.
There's
two
components
that
really
there's
a
tracting
new
industry
to
town,
but
there's
also
and
but
maybe
more
importantly,
for
us
making
sure
we
have
a
very
real
and
deep
connection
to
the
industry
that
are
exists
here
and
that
we
know
what
kind
of
challenges
they're
having
in
our
community.
B
We
know
what
things
work
well
in
our
community
and
we
are
in
a
relationship
with
the
folks
who
run
those
places
and
make
the
decisions
around
us
places
enough.
Then,
when
the
opportunity
comes
for
them
to
expand
right,
but
they
want
to
do
that
here
and
that's
a
very
powerful
thing.
Pratt
&
Whitney
is
a
great
example
that
we've
recently
had
that
announcement.
The
investment
that
they're
making
and
the
jobs
they'll
create
that's
from
an
existing
business
and
so
they're
already
here
we
already
know
them.
B
We
all
be
really
good
and
helping
facilitate
those
kind
of
expansions
here.
But
it's
interesting
that
that
targeted
economic
development
group
in
that
workforce
development
group
those
two
go
hand
in
II.
Absolutely
when
we,
when
we
had
the
announcement
about
Pratt,
&
Whitney
evident
as
soon
as
the
governor
finished
made
in
the
announcement.
One
of
the
executives
of
the
local
plant
leaned
over
to
me.
I
was
standing
next
to
him
and
he
said
now
we
got
to
find
the
people
right.
A
The
action
plan
everything
ties
them
together,
building
this
building
those
that
education,
that
that
building
the
people
for
these
places,
bringing
these
places
here
and
making
them
want
to
come
here.
That's
right
by
having
a
quality
of
life
that
you
know.
If
I'm
going
to
bring
a
plant
here,
I
want
folks
my
employees
to
be
able
to
go
out
and
enjoy
yourself,
then
knowing
Columbus,
they
have
the
brand
of
Columbus
I'm.
B
B
That's
interesting
because,
because
you
mentioned
two
things,
just
in
a
quality
of
life
and
the
branding-
and
those
are
two
separate
action
groups
in
this
exercise,
so
I've
mentioned
two
of
them.
The
other
two
is
having
a
vibrant,
vibrant
and
connected
places,
that's
being
led
by
Betsy
Covington,
who
runs
the
community
foundation,
and
that
group
is
trying
to
make
sure
we
create
quality
of
life.
We
need
to
have
in
this
community
and
to
do
that
by
connecting
the
different
parts
of
our
community.
So
the
Riverwalk
connects
us
with
Phoenix
City.
B
It
connects
the
Uptown
area
with
Fort.
Benning
brings
those
populations
together
in
a
way
that
they
can
interact
with
one
another
and
relax
with
each
other
recreate
and
that
sort
of
thing,
but
that
needs
to
happen
with
uptown
in
the
Liberty
district,
the
Liberty
district
and
city
village,
South
Columbus
in
Midtown
Midtown
in
North
Columbus
in
East
Columbus,
the
dragonfly
trail.
You
know
connecting
these
areas
with
walking
and
biking
trails
or
transit.
B
That's
what
that's
all
about
and
that
helps
to
create
a
quality
of
place
where
people
want
to
work
and
what
we
know
about
workforce.
When
you
talk
about
how
these
are
all
connected,
is
there
was
a
time
where
you
got
out
of
college
or
you
got
your
skill
and
you
went
to
find
a
job
and
you
went
to
where
that
job
was
and
what
we
know
now
is
that
people
come
out
of
school
or
whatever
they're
doing,
and
they
go
find
a
place
they
want
to
live
because
of
the
experience
they
can
have
right.
A
B
B
A
that's
where
all
that
comes
in,
and
then
you
mentioned,
branding
and
and
and
having
a
cohesive
image
and
identity
for
this
community
is
a
fourth
action
group
and
that's
being
led
by
Peter
Bowden
at
the
CVB
and
he's
working
on
a
literal
brand,
an
image
for
our
community
and
once
that's
in
place.
You
know
a
marketing
campaign,
an
advertising
campaign.
B
If
you
leave
this
area
and
you
go
to
Atlanta,
sometimes
or
you
know
anywhere
outside
of
Atlanta-
and
you
see
from
Columbus
a
lot
of
people,
look
at
you
and
they
may
say:
whoa
I
go
through
Columbus
wanna
go
to
the
beach
or
I
said
you
go
to
that
before
or
in
that.
Where
Fort
Benning
is
or
you
tell
my
Columbus
Ohio
I
mean
those.
B
No
I
mean,
and
people
who
come
here
say
minutes
the
best-kept
secret
around
and
we
all
want
to
be
the
best-kept
secret
around
we
want
to.
We
want
people
to
know
our
story
and
to
know
who
we
are,
and
so
this
part
of
the
strategy
is
how
do
we
get
outside
of
Columbus
and
tell
the
story
of
who
we
are
and
entice
people
to
want
to
come
check
it
out.
A
And
that's
what
makes
Columbus
so
interesting
to
me.
If
I
go
downtown,
you
may
see
in
the
old
elderly
couple
you
may
see
a
guy
riding
by
on
a
pickup
truck
with
a
dog
on
the
back.
You
may
see
a
Cadillac
with
some
28
inch,
rims
and
humates
somebody
with
purple,
hair
and
they're
all
in
the
same
place.
Right
I've
had
conversation
with
people
from
from
South
Africa
and
in
France,
and
all
these
places
right
here
in
Columbus
yeah
and
yet
we're
still
a
best-kept
secret
right.
You
know
it's
those
two
things
well.
B
We
hadn't
been
able
to
tell
our
story
well
yeah
and
we're
about
to,
and
it's
going
to
be
fun
to,
watch
it
and
I
think
the
community
will
really
benefit
from
it
real
quickly.
The
last
group
laughter
there's
five
of
them.
It
is
an
enterprising
culture,
and
this
is
one
you
mentioned
earlier
about
entrepreneurship.
C
B
We
want
to
invest
in
the
ecosystem
or
the
infrastructure
that
allows
for
people
to
start
up
businesses
and
be
successful
in
that
way.
Interestingly
enough,
the
history
of
our
community
is
that
IFAC
was
a
startup
business
from
a
family
thesis
was
a
department
of
another
company
that
that
was
started
inside
of
a
business
and
then
spun
out
on
its
own
Synovus
was
a
family-owned
business
that
started
up
and
right.
B
What
this
effort
is
going
to
do
with
troy
university
over
in
phoenix
city
has
already
started
a
business
accelerator
to
help
people
be
able
to
start
a
business
when
they
really
don't
know
how
we're
going
to
be
putting
together
funding
sources
for
people,
whether
it
be
venture
capital
angel,
investing
that
sort
of
thing,
but
having
makerspaces
having
counseling
services
like
Small,
Business,
Development
or
score.
But
what
we
want
to
do
in
this
strategy
is
trying
to
bring
all
of
those
places
together
into
a
physical
central
place
for
entrepreneurship
in
our
community
and.
C
B
It
can
be
a
one-stop-shop
for
somebody
who's
interested
in
starting
a
business,
and
we
think
that
will
be
incredibly
important
in
our
community
to
diversify
our
economy
and
our
growth
in
employment
and
lastly,
before
I
forget.
Let
me
mention
this
because
I
mentioned
five
critical
action
areas.
I
haven't
mentioned
Fort
Benning,
but
it's
such
a
big
deal
and
Fort
Benning
is
integral
integrally
involved
in
every
one
of
those
five
areas.
B
So
from
a
workforce
standpoint
I
mean
tremendous
resource
for
our
region
to
have
Fort
Benning
here
from
a
workforce
where
there's
a
spouse
of
a
soldier
or
soldier
who's
getting
out
of
the
army.
These
folks
come
with
a
lot
of
experience.
They've
been
at
a
lot
of
places
around
the
world.
They
know
how
to
do
stuff.
They
know
how
to
lead.
They
know
how
to
manage
risk
and
and
so
they're
a
great
resource
for
our
region
from
a
workforce,
standpoint
and
they're
connected
to
that
process.
B
But
the
same
holds
true
for
entrepreneurism
and
it
holds
on
true
for
quality
of
life.
Even
the
targeted
economic
development
I
mean
defense
contractors
I
mean
we
need
to
work
on
strategies
around.
How
can
we
have
a
healthy
group
of
defense
contractors
doing
business
here
in
this
community,
making
things
that
the
army
needs
to
do
their
work?
So
the
commanding
general
fort
benning
is
very
connected
to
closed
2005
and
his
team
of
people
are
involved
in
every
one
of
these
action
areas,
vitally
important
that
we
do
that
if.
A
You're
just
joining
us
we're
talking
about
columbus
2025,
we
know
where
we
are.
We
know
we
want
to
be
in
and
there's
a
committee
working
and
they
know
the
truth
about
Columbus,
all
the
other
good,
bad
and
ugly.
How
far
we
were
behind
something
that
we
really
need
to
work
on
poverty,
job
growth,
but
they're,
working
on
it
and
they
care
they
really
do
it's
not
one
of
those
groups
that
were
just
going
to
get
together
have
tea
talk
about
some
stuff
and
walk
home
and
feel
good
about
ourselves.
A
There's
some
things
really
going
on
in
Columbus
that
you're
going
to
see.
That's
really
going
to
help
us
get
to
that
next
level.
Now
of
all
the
research
they've
done,
if
they've
looking
at
five
areas
that
really
really
come
together
and
really
look
on
making
this
a
better
place,
let
me
just
touch
on
those
areas
again:
okay,.
B
So
there's
a
workforce
group
as
talented
educated
people
and
it's
about
building
a
local
homegrown
workforce,
attracting
workforce
from
outside
right
and
having
that
available
for
industry
in
our
community
to
put
the
work
and
grow
their
business
as
a
targeted
economic
development
group.
That
group
is
doing
the
traditional
work
of
economic
development,
of
trying
to
attract
new
industry
to
our
community,
but
I
think
for
us,
more
importantly,
making
sure
we're
connected
to
the
existing
industry.
We
have
so
when
the
they
decide
they
need
to
grow
or
expand.
Hopefully
they'll
be
doing
it
here
right.
B
So
that's
what
that
group
is
going
to
do.
There's
an
enterprising
culture
group
and
that's
about
creating
an
ecosystem
for
entrepreneurs
to
be
able
to
access
capital
to
be
able
to
have
resources
on
how
you
write
a
business
plan.
How
you
really
develop
your
product?
How
you,
how
you
figure
out,
what
to
sell
it
for
and
how
to
sell
it?
Those
kinds
of
things
and
we
want
to
create
a
physical
center
that
is
an
entrepreneurial
center
in
our
community
and
in
this
region.
B
Then
then,
there's
this
quality
of
life,
peace,
vibrant
and
connected
places,
and
it's
about
connecting
the
different
parts
of
our
community
and
the
people
who
live
in
those
parts
to
one
another
in
a
environmentally
pleasing
aesthetic
way,
so
that
it
can
create
the
kind
of
energy
we
want.
And
then
the
last
piece
is
having
a
cohesive
image
and
it's
the
branding
piece
and
it's.
How
do
we
put
together
an
image
and
a
brand
around
this
community
and
around
this
region?
B
So
we
can
go
outside
of
this
region
and
tell
people
how
great
we
are
and
all
the
good
things
that
are
going
on.
Those
are
the
five
areas,
their
action
areas,
it's
about
execution,
each
one
of
them
has
very
clear
strategic
objectives
and-
and
there
are
tactical
recommendations
on
how
to
accomplish
those
objectives
and
I
think
maybe
most
importantly,
there's
a
scorecard
for
each
one
of
those
five
groups
and
and
it's
quantifiable.
B
It's
numbers-
you
measure
it,
and
so
every
year
we're
going
to
be
basically
putting
out
the
report
card,
and-
and
this
is
what
this
work
is
doing-
to
make
a
difference.
And,
quite
frankly,
if
it's
not
making
a
difference,
that's
just
as
important
to
know
so
we
can.
We
can
go
back
and
say:
okay,
we're
working
on
this,
but
it's
not
changing
the
outcome,
all
right.
So
what
do
we
need
to
change
about?
What
we're
working
on
right.
B
Some
key
partners
to
help
us
get
started
was
the
development
article
is
huge.
The
Chamber
of
Commerce
is
huge.
The
community
foundation
has
been
a
huge
partner
in
this
effort
and
getting
this
process
up
and
running
the
CVB
Peter
Bowden
is
taking
on
the
branding
initiative
and
he's
doing
an
incredible
job
with
that.
But
but
beyond
that,
there
are
multiple
organizations
that
are
contributing
to
the
effort
financially
contributing
people
to
the
effort,
and
we've
got
a
committee
and
implementation
committee
of
about
40
people
and
those
40.
B
People
are
set
up
to
just
look
at
the
work
of
these
five
action
areas
and
make
sure
that
we're
staying
on
target
with
the
strategy
and
that
we're
actually
accomplishing
the
things
that
we
said
we
were
going
to
accomplish
and
those
people
represent
government.
They
represent
regional
Phoenix,
City
they've
ever
in
Harris
County,
they
represent
clergy,
there's
private
business,
there's
public
companies
that
are
represented
on
there.
B
So
it
is
a
great
cross-section
of
people
throughout
the
community
and
then
and
then,
as
we
get
further
into
this,
and
we're
really
only
you
know
a
handful
of
months
into
actually
doing
this
after
we
announced
it
earlier
this
year.
As
we
get
further
into
it,
there
will
be
a
lot
of
partner
organizations
that
will
come
to
the
come
to
the
table
and
bring
what
they're
doing
to
add
to
the
benefit
of
Columbus
2025
cause.
2025
is
interesting.
It's
not
owned
by
any
one
group
which
is
good.
We're.
B
A
collaborative
group
for
a
lot
of
people,
and
one
of
the
things
that
we
want
make
sure
we
do
is
that
we
don't
try
to
take
all
the
wonderful
things
they're
going
on
in
the
community
and
take
over
those
things.
But
we
want
to
bring
those
things
into
the
process
so
that
the
Business
Accelerator,
the
Troy
University
is
already
done
knows
about
some
of
the
incubator,
space
and
maker
space
right
and
they
are
coming
together
and
they
can
work
in
the
same
direction
for
the
same
outcome.
A
B
There's
a
website
Columbus,
GA,
2025
and
I-
encourage
those
to
go
on
the
website.
Read
about
the
assessment
to
learn
about.
What's
what
we
found
out
about
the
community
read
about
the
strategy?
What
are
some
of
the
strategic
objectives?
What
are
some
of
the
tactical
things
we're
going
to
be
working
on
and
doing?
What
are
we
trying
to
accomplish?
You
can
sign
on
to
the
website
to
indicate
an
interest
and
being
involved
and
I
think
as
the
partner
groups
become
more
involved
over
time.
A
B
A
B
C
Ranked
colleges
and
universities
offer
technical,
certifications
and
advanced
degrees,
recruitment
and
retention
programs
attract
the
best
and
brightest
workforce.
Development
boosts
productivity
through
skilled
labor
and
customized
training
cradle
to
career
education
transforms
lives,
creating
innovative
thinkers
with
a
passion
for
lifelong
learning,
talented.
A
Welcome
back
to
columbus
connections,
we've
been
talking
columbus
2025,
we're
looking
at
where
Columbus
is
the
good,
the
bad
and
how
it
can
take
those
things
and
make
Columbus
even
better.
Now,
we've
just
spoken
with
Billy
Blanchard,
who
is
spearheading
this
him
and
a
lot
of
great
people
in
our
community,
really
care
about
the
community
and
really
want
to
make
that
change
and
make
things
better.
A
But
I
want
to
talk
more
to
folks
that
are
younger
in
the
community
and
and
there's
next
gentleman
with
me
he's
young
in
the
community,
but
he's
also
had
a
great
look
in
helping
this
Columbus
2025
coming
together.
So
it's
going
to
be
just
great
to
see
it
through
his
eyes.
Mr.
Jeremy
Akal,
how
you
doing
I'm.
D
D
Yeah
I'm
the
program
manager
for
Columbus
2025,
so
I'm
charged
with
you,
know,
managing
our
communication
tools
in
all
of
our
processes
associated
with
implementation.
So
that
means
reporting
out
on
progress
to
our
volunteers
and
to
the
public
and
just
doing
a
number
of
things
of
closely
working
together
with
our
vice-president
I'm.
Sorry,
our
VP
of
Economic
Development
at
the
Chamber
bill,
Murphy
I
work
directly
with
him
to
ensure
that
all
activities
associated
with
the
implementation
of
Columbus
2025
are.
A
A
Is
why
I
really
want
to
get
your
perspective
of
it,
because
you're
younger
and
you've
been
in
all
your
life?
You,
you
have
a
different
look
of
what
Columbus
is
you've,
seen
where
Columbus
is
in
and
you've
seen
where
it
we're
just
going,
and
then,
on
top
of
that
you've
been
working
here
with
with
Columbus
2025,
to
kind
of
do
some
of
that
ground
working
and
make
those
connections.
So
how
does
that
affect
your
view
of
Columbus
and
where
you
speak
of
understand,
Wow.
D
Well,
you
know
just
getting
to
see
and
learn
some
of
the
different
things
that
we
learned
through
the
regional
prosperity
initiative.
I
mean
I
can
see
Columbus
going,
you
know
to
the
top
I
mean
being
one
of
those
top
cities
in
the
south,
I
mean
there's
a
lot
of
surprising
things
that
people
don't
know
about
Columbus-
and
you
know
just
looking
into
the
future
of
Columbus-
is
very
bright.
Now.
A
D
It
after
the
context
well,
first
I,
would
encourage
anyone
to
first
of
all
learn
about
Columbus
2025.
If
you
can
do
that
by
visiting
our
website
at
Columbus,
GA,
2025
comm
and
there
you
can
go
to
our
learn
tab
where
you
can
read
all
the
documents
from
the
regional
prosperity
initiative
and
and
see
it
on
your
see
it.
For
yourself,
I
mean,
and
also
on
that
on
that
page,
you
can
see
each
one
of
our
action
areas,
our
goals
and
metrics.
How
we
plan
to
do
this.
D
So
that's
what
I
encourage
anyone
to
do
first
is
to
learn
about
Columbus
2025.
You
can
also
engage
with
our
community
partners
through
our
website
as
well,
and
meaningful
progress
requires
investments
from
you
know.
People
from
throughout
the
community,
so
I
would
I
would
encourage
everyone
to
visit
our
website,
but
also
our
social
media
efforts.
You
know
follow
us
on
Facebook.
That's
a
really
really
close,
later
stay
involved
on
what
with
Columbus
2025
on
the
weekly
or
you
know,
monthly
basis,
so
Facebook
we're
also
on
Twitter
and
all
of
our
videos
are
on
YouTube.
A
Here's
another
reason
why
I'm
glad
you're
here
is
that
to
get
to
this
this
place,
where
we're
going
to
be
it's
not
just
our
leaders,
it's
not
just
those
folks
at
the
top
of
too
often
I
think
young
folks.
They
have
that
drive
and
want
something
happening
bright,
but
they
feel
like
it's
not
their
time.
Yet
I
was
listening.
Now
more
than
ever,
you're
anybody's
time
can
be
now.
That's.
A
D
Absolutely
true
and
I
mean
our
younger
generation
is
it's
definitely
a
part
of
our
plan,
especially
with
our
talent,
attraction
and
retention
efforts.
Here,
all
of
our
you
know,
on
Middle
School
are
live
from
the
cradle
all
the
way
to
a
career,
we're
looking
to
make
sure
that
we
instill
and
align
those
education
systems
with
the
workforce
systems
here
in
our
region,
so
that
we
can
be
prosperous
in
the
future.
Give.
D
Visit
our
website,
Columbus
GA,
2025,
calm,
our
Facebook
column,
is
ga
2025
and
also
Twitter
Columbus
GA
2025
and
those
are
those
are
our
main
avenues
on
social
on
social
media.
Also
YouTube.
You
can
just
look
up
Columbus
2025
there
as
well,
so
there.
A
You
have
it
Columbus
2025,
look
it
up
find
out
about
it,
find
out
how
you
can
help
there's
a
lot
of
people,
not
really
that
really
care
really
care
about,
what's
wrong
with
it
and
how
to
make
it
right
and
how
to
make
it
better
and
we
all
can
be
a
part
of
that.
So,
let's
make
sure
we
do
thanks
for
watching
into
the
Columbus
connection.