Is Greater Rochester like the Reno-Tahoe region?

I wanted to get an idea of who the panelists for Eyes on the Future are and what they can share with us. For no particular reason, I started at the bottom of the link list on the website and found out a little about Ron Weisinger, from the Northern Nevada Development Authority (Reno-Tahoe region), and Mayor David G. Wallace, from Sugar Land, Texas (photo left).

Why Sugar Land? "The economy in Fort Bend County, which includes Sugar Land, is rising at a rate greater than that of the 10 strongest metropolitan economies in the country. The size of the economy, earnings and employment all have grown at a rate much faster than 99 percent of all economies in the country." (SBC press release.)

Here's what Tom Ioele, Past President of the Small Business Council said about Wallace in that release: "Mayor Wallace is a great addition to our panel of economic development officials who will share their experiences and offer ideas on how we can apply some of their winning formulas to grow our economy."

So what do we need to ask Mayor Wallace when we have him here? What "immediate actions and tangible results" can he point us toward?

BTW, according to the Fort Bend Now blog Mayor Wallace also has his own online radio show! Here's a sample from his Inside Story podcast.

And speaking of online ideas, Ron Weisinger's bio includes one very specific initiative from the Reno-Tahoe region that gets me excited:

... the re-working of 18 rural regional web sites including demographic information updated on a daily basis. The web sites will be coordinated and interconnected showing assets of the region and integrated local government, for profit and non-profit relationships. All of this is geared to assist the prospective client from work force to real estate, community content to financial, and all aspects of making it easier for a national site selector or individual client to have the best possible facts and knowledge prior to making a site relocation decision.

In a December 2006 interview, he noted, "Companies don't see county lines. Our success is based on how we connect as a region."

How can we leverage the Web toward presenting our Greater Rochester region as a unified economic whole?

Comments

[George Kittredge]

Here are two questions I would like to hear the panel address. 1. What do they believe is the biggest obstacle to economical development we face in the region? 2. What five initiatives (not including government and private equity funding) would they recommend businesses, organizations and individuals (either collectively or separately) pursue to improve the opportunity for economic growth?