Horizon Initiative making N.O. The City of YES! by the Tri-centennial

This is a remarkable time to be in New Orleans! While many continue to deal with life challenges, we see all around us the increased level of civic involvement focused on making our city a better place for all of its citizens. Indeed there are so many noteworthy actions that have been taken by individuals and groups dedicated to improving the quality of life in this city since the storm. Personally, I have been extraordinarily honored to be involved with the Horizon Initiative.

Considering HI’s substantial and diverse membership, I trust that many of you know by now that the Horizon Initiative is a grass roots organization of business leaders, civic leaders and leaders of our universities, who are dedicated to a long term vision for the economic development of New Orleans. Co-founded by George Wentz, an attorney with Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, and New Orleans businessman and philanthropist, Arthur Pulitzer, HI was modeled after the Miami Beacon Council, a public/private partnership organization which is that city’s economic development entity. Formed in the early 80’s when Miami was going through many of the problems that New Orleans now faces, they are largely credited for leading Miami out of decline and into the prosperous international city we know today. Soon after Katrina, George Wentz had the inspired idea to reach out to the Beacon Council so we might learn from the great success they had in their turnaround. It has proven enormously gratifying to see how its President, Frank Nero, and members of his staff, Holly Weidman and Julio Piti, have become such great friends and mentors to us. Indeed they’ve been so gracious and generous with their counsel and time that it’s difficult to grasp that they represent the interests of a competing market!

This public/private partnership model has also proven successful in many other cities that have reversed declining economies; cities like Charlotte, Jacksonville, San Antonio and Orlando have benefited. Could it be that New Orleans might also benefit? This was the question. This was the inspiration. But we needed to be sure. We needed to have a respected third party with no agenda make the determination because time was of the essence and we had no room for error. Enter the RAND Corporation. Perhaps that renowned and nationally recognized research organization could be brought on board to discover the best model for New Orleans. We just had to figure out how to raise the money to commission the study. So we did what one does in New Orleans to raise money . . . we threw a party! JamFEST2007 last May was a great fundraiser, where the mix of people was representative of all corners of the city! The energy and optimism was palpable in that group. It was a great and successful night, with a memorable jam between Kermit and Irvin, and an emotional reading by Chuck Perkins of his Katrina-related poetry. We all partied with a purpose.

I don’t pretend that the HI membership never succumbed to the depression du jour, but luckily it never seemed to happen to all of us at once. We sustained each other with our commitment to New Orleans and our underlying faith that most everyone in the city understood that the old school “that’s just New Orleans” sensibility could no longer fly. Fiefdoms and territorial behavior were being discouraged. So, playing off of the rather unfortunate acronym that results from the abbreviation of New Orleans, we agreed that the effort of the membership of the Horizon Initiative would make N.O. The City of YES!

New Orleans got a taste of what it truly means to be The City of YES! on November 28th, when an unprecedented level of cooperation was exhibited by the City Council’s Economic Development Committee chaired by Arnie Fielkow, by Dr. Ed Blakely and the City’s Office of Recovery Management, by Barbara Johnson of GNO, Inc., by Greg Rusovich of the Business Council, by Dr. Ivan Mieschovich, Director of the UNO Center for Economic Development/Economics and Finance, and by a large and diverse cross-section of our community. All of these came together that Wednesday afternoon in the Council Hearing Chambers to hear and to ultimately support the RAND Corporation’s presentation of its “best practices” model for economic development in the city of New Orleans. RAND examined many cities and many models and determined that the public/private partnership was indeed the way to go, and City Hall, the City Council, GNO, Inc. and the business and civic community as represented by the Horizon Initiative ALL AGREED! There was agreement too, that this model should be fast-tracked for funding and that the details of its powers vis à vis the city should be determined by an outside group that specializes in setting up such economic development entities.

This is exciting stuff! New Orleans can now join other successful, prosperous cities throughout the South that have applied best practices for economic development, and have reaped the benefits. We have so much to be hopeful for now. As we create this entity and continue working together to strengthen this economy, our tax base will increase. The concomitant benefits of an increased tax base include an exemplary public education system available to all; a reliable infrastructure throughout our city; high paying jobs that spring from a vibrant, growing economy; and the best criminal justice system available, effectively eradicating violent crime.

So what is economic development anyway? What is it really about? In its purest sense, it is about business retention, business attraction, support for growth industries, and workforce development. The RAND study made it very clear and the City Council and Dr. Blakely were absolutely on the same page in that New Orleans needs to place its priority focus on retaining and strengthening the businesses that are here, especially businesses that offer new opportunities for growth. To that end, the Horizon Initiative, in association with the ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) and New Orleans CityBusiness, is hosting a series of industry-specific business retention “YES! To Business” Forums. The purpose is to open a dialogue within select industries of the greatest importance to the New Orleans economy to discern the true challenges and opportunities faced in doing business in this city. Each industry sector can then determine its own 10-year vision for prosperity, with the City to facilitate where needed.

The first of these luncheon forums focused on the Oil & Gas industry and was held at the InterContinental Hotel on December 13th. Panelist speakers at the YES! To Business Oil & Gas Forum included, Frank A. Glaviano Sr., Vice President Production Americas, Shell Energy Resources Company; Chris John, President, Louisiana Mid-Continental Oil and Gas Association; Terry Hall, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Superior Energy Services; and Clint Coldren, President and CEO of Bayou Bend Oil and Gas and the event Chair. This forum was also in association with industry organizations API, NOGS, PLANO and SPE. The sold-out luncheon ended in a standing ovation, as the key stakeholders present were empowered to work together to keep the industry strong and in New Orleans.

Upcoming forums in the series will include YES! to Business Building and Construction, YES! to Business Port/Trade/Shipping, YES! to Business Universities, Yes! to Business Creative Industries and so on. Each of the industries highlighted in the series will be asked to outline their own 10-year vision for where they plan to be by 2018. Oh, and 2018 happens to be the tri-centennial year of the founding of the city of New Orleans! Once we have done the work to retain and support our current population and business base, we can then turn our attention to attracting new businesses, bringing new jobs; thereby further increasing the tax base, and in turn improving the quality of life for all in our beautiful city.

“The City of YES!” for the Tri-centennial? We at the Horizon Initiative say YES!

Pamela Senatore
Vice President
Horizon Initiative