Leadership. This is arguably the most important attribute of a successful business, organization or even a community.
I have often said that what has set Sioux Falls apart from our peers is that through the years our community leaders have realized that a rising tide raises all of the boats. Rather than being focused on their own self-interests, countless men and women sacrificially gave of their time, talent and treasure to make Sioux Falls a better place for all.
While I am sure that almost any community in America can point to examples of outstanding civic leaders, I doubt that any city can consistently match the heritage and culture of successful leadership that we have developed here in Sioux Falls. Although I have only been part of this great community since 1989, I would run out of fingers and toes if I were to try to count all of the civic leaders who come to mind just in my 21 years here working and being involved in this wonderful business and professional community.
In the modern Sioux Falls’ era, I point to a watershed moment back in 1987 when a group of business leaders formed a joint venture initiative between the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation that we all recognize as Forward Sioux Falls.
The first Forward Sioux Falls initiative helped unify leaders from many sectors in our community, including government, education and business, around a common set of priorities. Once these priorities were established, we pooled our resources together to make sure that we successfully achieved the goals and objectives that we set for ourselves. Simply put, I believe we would all be hard pressed to come up with a single event or effort that has had a larger impact for the betterment of this community than Forward Sioux Falls.
Fast forward to today, and we are still feeling the positive effects from the vision that this group of leaders created for our community. Twenty-three years later, we are now in the final year of Forward Sioux Falls V and the proof is clearly in the pudding. I think we all agree that despite the challenges that we have encountered during the recession, no one would trade our combination of economic resilience and quality of life for anywhere else in the country.
After the recent completion of the community-wide, comprehensive Future Sioux Falls strategic economic development planning process, preparations are now underway for a sixth Forward Sioux Falls program. It is just as extremely important that we are unified and are committed to working together to successfully meet the challenges and opportunities of the decade ahead.
It is also critically important that we continue to perpetuate the culture of successful community leadership that we have enjoyed for so many years. Please turn to the pages inside this issue of the Chamber News to learn more about a few ways that your Chamber is helping develop the next generation of leaders in our community.
