Two full days. Hundreds of municipal officials. Engaging keynote speakers. Displays and demonstrations. Informative sessions giving attendees the tools to face the challenges in their hometowns head-on. CityVision 2019, the League's annual conference held this past week in host-city Hickory, was a rousing success with new features this year that added immediate, practical value for any municipality in attendance.
"Today, for the League, it's about bettering the lives of North Carolinians by making cities and towns more responsive, stronger, more resilient, helping them reflect unique and local visions," Jacksonville Mayor Pro Tem and Immediate Past President of the League Michael Lazzara during podium remarks. Lazzara served an extended tenure as League president leading up to CityVision 2019. "We are working as one, and advancing all," he said.
"Working as One. Advancing All." was not just a one-off phrase for the conference; it's the League's new tagline, paired with a freshly updated logo, under a rebranding newly unveiled to members.
A brief video shown at the conference conveys the new look and feel and explains what's inside this exciting change.
The main portions of the conference began bright and early Wednesday at the Hickory Metro Convention Center, abuzz with mayors, councilmembers, commissioners, alderpersons, law enforcement officials and municipal staffers. All had access to concurrent and general sessions of their choice with focuses on future-readying, strengthening bonds with residents, communicating success stories on the ground, broadband as 21st century infrastructure and more.
State Attorney General Josh Stein spoke on the urgency of the opioid-abuse crisis, a major focal point of his office, and discussed the League's Opioid Solutions Toolbox, found at
nclm.org/opioidsolutions, providing local leaders important tools for combatting the issue. Futurist Matt Thornhill led sessions focused on the context of growth, generational change and disruptive technologies that are shifting how we interface with our communities. Ted Lord, acting president of Golden LEAF, connected League members with crucial information on securing grants that help communities. Brian Hooker, executive director of Fort Mac LRA, wowed the crowd with his presentation on a large-scale redevelopment project on an old Army post in underserved southwest Atlanta. And motivational speaker Jeff Evans inspired with stories of his globetrotting adventures and mountain-climbing, with lessons on teamwork and leadership.
The City of Hickory, CityVision's host this time around, planned numerous ways for conference-goers to absorb their community, which has undergone and continues to undergo the kind of revitalization that creates a thriving, resident-proud sense of place. During a downtown host-city event added to the conferene programming, League members enjoyed the results with plenty of foot traffic to local shops and restaurants.
Every installment of CityVision is meaningful. This time, especially so. Originally scheduled for September 2018 in Hickory, CityVision went on hold in light of the devastation of Hurricane Florence, the uncommonly powerful storm that churned over the state at the time and left so many communities with more urgent priorities. In turn, the League's Board of Directors and executive staff made the difficult call to reschedule the conference for spring 2019 -- incidentally starting a new schedule for the event typically held each fall. We are so thankful that the City of Hickory graciously welcomed us back, and that there was availability at the Hickory Metro Convention Center to accomodate our group. We look forward to seeing everyone next spring at CityVision 2020, with Wilmington as our host city.
