Cleveland has serious momentum and the future is bright. That's the message that attracted about 1,400 business and community leaders to the Greater Cleveland Partnership annual meeting Wednesday evening.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland has serious momentum and the future is bright. That's the message that attracted about 1,400 business and community leaders to the Greater Cleveland Partnership annual meeting Wednesday evening.
Before Chuck Todd, NBC News political director and managing editor of "Meet the Press," offered a keynote address focusing on next summer's Republican National Convention in Cleveland, various organization leaders managed to thank the Cavalier's for playing a role in boosting not just spirits, but also the local economy in recent months.
"This is a city whose time has come," said Beth Mooney, chair and chief executive officer of KeyCorp and chairwoman of the partnership's board of directors. Similar to the city of Cleveland, the Cavaliers have faced challenges and dealt with them, she said, as the crowd responded with applause at the second mention of the NBA finalists just 20 minutes into a two-hour meeting.
Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, announced a new $50 million federal infusion in tax credits that will be used as a tool to advance the city's revitalization. He talked about challenges that range from the need to improve safety, an upcoming school improvement plan report from the Cleveland Transformation Alliance that's expected to have mixed progress results for Cleveland's public and charter schools, and even the need to come up with a stance on efforts to legalize marijuana in Ohio. But first, he thanked the Cavaliers.
"There is no doubt that they brought all of us together for a magical eight months, to watch an amazing team grow and overcome adversity like few professional teams before them," he said. "And by the way, as a chamber of commerce, we know there was a nice economic bounce to those two months as well."
Todd told the crowd that this is not an exciting time in politics, before spelling out three issues that he sees confronting the next president of the United States: economic anxiety, rethinking how we conduct diplomacy and foreign policy, and changing what he says is a broken political system.
That system he said includes "real power" that a growing number of special interests groups continue to use to influence laws. And a system that doesn't allow some talented politicians to get into positions that can influence change - until about 20 years after their expertise is too far removed to be relevant.
"I think there's a growing distrust of Washington," Todd said, noting that he is optimistic that millennials can make a difference if they get engaged. "They better have the answer, or we're in trouble.
"We're in danger of losing a generation that doesn't believe that going to Washington is a good thing," Todd said. "We're not attracting the best and brightest anymore."
On the positive note, he also warned that if it's a contested national convention in Cleveland, more people will be expected to come for two weeks instead of just one, adding another short-term economic boost to the local economy.
Todd also posed a challenge: "Civic leaders like yourself, need to demand better," he said, referring to the need for more people to get engaged in politics.
From talk about the Commission for Economic Inclusion to awards that were given out for categories like board diversity and workforce diversity, the meeting that included videos on a 150-foot wide screen, seemed to touch on every aspect of the importance of involving all sorts of organizations to move the city forward.
Kathryn "Kit" Jensen, chief operating officer of Ideastream, and Jerrold "Jerry" Wareham, president and CEO of Ideastream won the 2015 Richard Shatten professional leadership award. The media company was recognized for using TV, radio and Internet for touching so many people with their programming.
Richard Rivera, a doorman at the Cleveland Marriott downtown at Key Center for the last 22 years, said after years of being in a city that felt stagnant he's excited about the new energy he feels while talking to first time visitors who come to the convention center. He credits several factors, including the casino and the new culinary scene with chefs like Michael Symon and Jonathon Sawyer, who he says helped put Cleveland on the map. Now he's looking forward to the Republican National Convention. Despite their passion, all of the many speakers at the annual meeting offered prepared remarks.
But Richard Rivera, a doorman at the Cleveland Marriott downtown at Key Center, across the street from the new convention center, offered his perspective about Cleveland's revitalization off the top of his head. For the last 22 years, he's had a first hand view of the highs and lows of the Cleveland economy. He said he's excited about Cleveland's new energy.
The Cavaliers are just one factor, he said. Rivera offered several reasons, including the downtown casino and the new culinary scene with chefs like Michael Symon and Jonathon Sawyer, who he says helped put Cleveland on the map. Now he's looking forward to the RNC.
"It's a very, very exciting time for our city," Rivera said.