Like many of you, I’ve been thinking about expectations for the year ahead. Here we all are – resolving, planning, putting our best foot forward. And so, as I have done previously, I offer a New Year's wish for our community.
I wish for clarity in 2023. Clarity of purpose, clarity of thoughts, and most importantly, clarity of our actions.
Last year, our community received much positive news through large-scale economic investment that has the potential to shift the direction of our economy. This includes the announcement of $113 million to support New Energy New York, a program to transform Greater Binghamton as a national hub for battery research and manufacturing; the continued transformation of legacy sites, including the Huron Campus, the Oakdale Mall, the EJ Toe Factory, and the former IBM Country Club into dynamic manufacturing and mixed-use developments, and diverse housing projects. We received $32 million award the Greater Binghamton Airport, coupled with new service from Avelo Airlines and new flights to LaGuardia International Airport.
And lest we forget, three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer donning a Rumble Ponies jersey last summer? These developments are the culmination of concerted efforts to reshape the narrative about who we are as a community. These developments have brought a feeling of, as many have said, “positive momentum.”
The biggest challenge to momentum, however, is keeping it.
Can we meet the year ahead with clarity to keep us moving in the right direction? We know that the way we live, and work has forever changed by global, social, and technological events. Are we clear in what we need to do to respond an innovate?
Investors, businesses, and individuals demand more out of their communities than ever before. There is a new emphasis on the development of people, place, and leadership. Can we build vibrant neighborhoods that will attract a diverse population of residents and move more people into home ownership? Can we assist local businesses with the most critical need to attract workers and develop the next generation of leaders? Can we create places where everyone can gather and feel connected to their community?
I hope that the year ahead provides the opportunity for clarity about who we are and what is important to us. I hope it speaks to the highest version of ourselves and reminds us hat great can happen here. Our history tells us it can. We create things that change the world. A great quote by Rod Serling, Binghamton's beloved son said, “When I dig back through memory cells, I get one particularly distinctive feeling-and that’s one of warmth, comfort and well-being. For whatever else I may have had, or lost, or will find-I’ve still got a hometown. This, nobody’s gonna take away from me.” Can we give that feeling to everyone in our community?
This year, the Leadership Alliance, will invite the community help to develop a comprehensive economic “blueprint” for our future. This plan will help us build on recent success and provide clarity to what is important to us as a community.
The development of this plan will require input from all voices and will focus on the curation people, place, and leadership. We will be utilizing in person and social engagement strategies to align our individual goals and vision for the community into a vibrant plan for success. Look for more details from the Leadership Alliance in the months ahead.
From the Leadership Alliance team to yours, I wish you health, happiness, and clarity. Happy New Year!
Be Well.
Stacey Duncan, CEO Leadership Alliance
The Leadership Alliance is a partnership between the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce and The Agency to serve as the central point of entry for business and economic development in the Greater Binghamton area.