CEO's Corner: A unified approach to tourism, development
2/28/2020 12AM
This column was originally published by Current in Carmel.
Jeff McDermott
The Center for the Performing Arts recently hosted our annual Sponsor Summit, a gathering for local business leaders who generously support our mission to discuss issues of the day and hear from other local and state leaders about topics of interest.
Our guest speaker for this year’s event at the Palladium was financial consultant Elaine Bedel, a highly respected entrepreneur who has been leading the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and now has a new statewide appointment as secretary and CEO of the Indiana Destination Development Corporation. The mission of this newly formed public-private agency is to “brand, promote, and tell Indiana’s authentic story to both attract and retain businesses, talent, students, and visitors.”
Among the IDDC’s rallying cries is to “stop being ‘Humble Hoosiers.’” Indiana has so much to offer in terms of high quality of life, low cost of living, and other assets, but without a unified statewide message and a collaborative effort to tell the story, it’s easy for us to be dismissed as flyover country.
The state’s holistic approach to these issues should dovetail nicely with the ongoing collaborations we enjoy here in our area, where – among other examples – the Hamilton County Tourism office partners with the Center, Grand Park, Conner Prairie and many other organizations and attractions to create a unified picture of a vibrant community that attracts tourism dollars and corporate investment to our local economy.
Looking more broadly to Central Indiana, one factor we could improve upon is collaborating, funding and sharing information across city and county lines. To our residents, audiences and visitors, these boundaries generally don’t determine where we seek employment, recreation, cultural enrichment and the other amenities that determine our quality of life. Cities and their suburbs rise and fall together, and our interdependence calls for cooperation, not competition.
The IDDC is an outstanding initiative to “sell” all of Indiana by highlighting everything that is great about our state. Let’s be sure to carry that spirit down to the regional and local level and work together to tell our stories.
Jeffrey C. McDermott is President/CEO of the Center for the Performing Arts and the Great American Songbook Foundation.
