Nothing stays the same. Either you get better, or you get worse.
Communities are like people. They have history. They have DNA. They have hopes and dreams. They have fears. And, like our own personal lives, communities have their ups and downs.
Greater Owensboro has been in the period of an upswing over the past several years. But the Chamber understands that this upswing has been because of intentional moves the community has made in infrastructure planning, placemaking and the strategies of talent and innovation. We understand that the momentum that we have experienced is not to be taken for granted and that we must continue to adapt and intentionally find new ways to stay ahead of our peer communities and other cities.
This year, in addition to ramping up our workforce development partnerships, the Chamber Board of Directors added downtown residential life as an item of focus. We have heard from baby boomers, young professionals, Realtors, Gen Xrs, and empty nesters that there is a need for the “missing middle” in our downtown housing offerings — offerings in different market rates where a broad group of people can enjoy downtown living.
To that end, our board enlisted the Gateway Group to visit Owensboro for a report card visit. That visit will result in a report that we hope will be the springboard to continue our private investment in our core, spur investment throughout ALL areas of our community and create the sense of place that we know puts Owensboro ahead of the competition for talent recruitment.
Great things ARE happening. But we cannot stand still. There are others taking notice of what is happening here. So let’s continue onward and continuously improve the community we all love by moving forward.