Toledo Talk "Meta-Plan workshop spotlights regionalism" id 8489

Sort of. Half the picture was filled in. This Nov 30, 2007 summit meeting was a nice first step, but it appears no representatives from Michigan attended. Why was that? Was Michigan invited?

Maybe the next one of these will include groups from across the line and the Lt. Gov. of Michigan. Then some day, it will be the Governors from both states attending a Lake Erie West meeting. We need a "Tear down this wall" moment that removes the invisible barrier called a state border.

A who's who of Northwest Ohio's economic development community met Nov. 30 at the Dana Conference Center to identify opportunities for coordination and collaboration among their organizations. Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher [born in Ann Arbor] delivered the workshop's keynote address.

Dan Johnson, UT president emeritus and one of the event's organizers, said the session was “historic” because it was the first time leaders from Northwest Ohio's main economic development agencies met under one roof to share their organizations' missions and goals and identify unifying themes to advance regional economic development.

Fisher lauded the joint economic development district agreed to by the City of Toledo and Perrysburg Township for FedEx's relocation of its ground hub on Reynolds Road to Wood County.

Neil Reid, director of the UT Urban Affairs Center and an associate professor of geography and planning, presented his analysis of possible local industry clusters [pdf file] — businesses that are linked through buyer-seller relationships or share a common market, labor-force skills or natural resources.

He cited the Maumee Valley Growers, an association of regional greenhouse growers, as a successful example of a cluster. Other Northwest Ohio industries that could benefit from a cluster model include information technology, advanced engineering and alternative energy, Reid said.