IEDC Annual Conference, Columbo Ohio 26 - 29 Sept 2010

An invittation is extended to EDA members to participate in IEDC's Annual Conference in Columbus Ohio Sept 26 to 29th September 2010.
An extensive program os Site Visits, Cultural Actvities and a full program of talks is planned.  See the document below:

On behalf of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), it is with great pleasure that I invite you to join me and the IEDC Board of Directors at IEDC’s 2010 Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, September 26-29.

This year’s Annual Conference has special meaning to me as Columbus is my hometown (I was actually born and raised in Newark, Ohio, 33 miles away). I am excited to be able to share the Columbus experience with you and hope that you will take advantage of all that the city, as well as the state, has to offer during your stay.

At the heart of the Midwest and the capital of Ohio, Columbus has been challenged like many other cities during the economic downturn, and its diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, fashion, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, healthcare, hospitality, retail, and technology was built on innovation and creative thinking. The city is well positioned for growth as the economy rebounds and it is the ideal location for the theme of the annual conference, New Paradigms: the Practice of Economic Development in a Changing Landscape.

The conference’s six educational tours will highlight key areas and initiatives in Columbus that tie in with the thought provoking themes and sessions that we’ll be discussing at the conference:

• Living on Top of the Old Margarine Factory and other Dirty Redevelopment Stories will explore sites that include Grandview Yard; Harrison Park (a former industrial site); and the Gahanna Creekside Development; all sites that highlight incredible development opportunities.

• The Rural /Agricultural Focus in Union County will take you to Univenture, Springdale Perch Farm, and Select Sires where you will learn how agriculture is playing a major role in job creation and investment.

• Technology and Higher Education will include stops at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, TechColumbus, and the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center where you’ll better understand why Columbus was named the #1 Up-and-Coming Tech City by Forbes in March 2008.

• The Rickenbacker tour will take you to the international airport dedicated to cargo.

• Honda of America will discuss the impact Honda is having on the community; and

• Bringing Life Back to Downtown Columbus will explore the downtown revitalization project and will include stops at the Arena District, the Scioto Mile, the River South District, and historic Gay Street.

In addition, those of you who know me know that I am an avid golfer, and no IEDC Annual Conference is complete without a round of golf on Sunday morning. This year is no different, and lucky golfers will be teeing off on the morning of September 26 at the Scarlet Golf Course at OSU, voted the number one collegiate course in America by GolfChannel.com. Unfortunately, I will be in board committee meetings, so have a great time.

We will also be inviting you to receptions throughout the conference and notably, the networking reception on September 28 that will be held at the Franklin Park Conservatory, a botanical landmark that features a permanent display of Dale Chihuly art glass that you won’t want to miss.

There is so much to discover and experience outside the realm of our conference in this vibrant city, and I’d like to take you on my own personal tour of what I think you should do and see before leaving Columbus.

First of all, no one should leave without visiting the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, which is world renowned for its collections that include lowland gorillas, polar bears, manatees, Siberian tigers, and kangaroos and was ranked as the best zoo in the U.S. in 2009 by the USA Travel Guide. As a matter of fact, you may have seen the Zoo’s director emeritus, Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on national television with animals from the zoo.

If you are interested in art, you won’t want to miss the Columbus Museum of Art, which is highlighting diverse pieces from its collection during an ongoing renovation, or the Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art center, located on the Campus of Ohio State University. The Bryn Du Art Show will be held September 29-October 8 at the Bryn Du Mansion and will feature Central Ohio's best artists in all media. This is very close to Newark, and I grew up with great stories about Bryn Du.

And if you are a sports fan, you will not want to miss the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame on the OSU campus, located in the Jerome Schottenstein Center, as well as the Jack Nicklaus Museum next door.

Columbus is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team, so you may even want to catch a game during your stay. The Blue Jackets are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 24 and the Minnesota Wild on September 28, both at the Nationwide Arena, and the Buckeyes will be playing Eastern Michigan on September 25 at Ohio Stadium. Good luck getting tickets; even non-conference game tickets are tough to get!
If you’d prefer to catch a show rather than a sporting event, the Broadway musical Legally Blonde the Musical will be playing at the Palace Theatre September 28-October 3, or you might want to tune into the Columbus Jazz Orchestra: Guitar Summit, September 24-25 at the Southern Theatre.
For a bit of local history, in the mid-1800s, a large number of German immigrants settled in Columbus and the German Village; a historic neighborhood just south of downtown where you will find Schiller Park and the beautiful St. Mary’s Church. I lived in German Village for the better part of a year and was able to walk to downtown Columbus and to some interesting restaurants and bars nearby. There, you can stop and enjoy one of the Village’s many bakeries and coffee shops, grab some real German fare at Schmidt's Restaurant und Sausage Haus, and combine it all with a tour given by the German Village Society. Also in German Village is the Zum Rathskeller which is the restaurant of the Columbus Maennerchor… The oldest and the Largest German-American Singing Society in North America!
In addition, the Columbus Oktoberfest will be taking place September 24-26 at the Ohio Expo Center, and ale aficionados can further enjoy the Columbus Microbrew Festival that will be going on September 24-25 at the North Market farmers market located a short walk from the conference hotel.

History buffs may be particularly interested in visiting the Ohio Historical Center and Ohio Village, a living history museum in Columbus that provides a firsthand view of life in Ohio during the American Civil War. And for something more relaxing, you may want to take a walk through the Big Darby Creek in the southwestern part of town since it is renowned for its beauty and ecological diversity. Moreover, the Chadwick Arboretum is located on the OSU campus and is a 60-acre tranquil, urban oasis featuring more than 2,000 different kinds of plants from around the world.

As you walk through the city, you may wonder how Columbus earned one of its nicknames, "The Arch City.” Dozens of wooden illuminated arches spanned the city at the turn of the twentieth century, but were replaced with cluster lights in 1914. However, they were reconstructed from metal in 2002 in the Short North Arts District. The Short North Arts District holds great appeal because of its unique shopping, galleries, restaurants, bars, and vibrant nightlife. Bernard’s Tavern is one of the new places in the Short North district to grab a drink with friends at and enjoy some tavern fare in a casual setting. Bar 23 is another spot with a premier patio ideal for observing the constant activity in the Short North while enjoying one of their specialty drinks. You can also watch a sporting event on one of their multiple flat screen TVs or hit their dance floor over the weekend. And you’ll definitely want to stop into the Flatiron Bar & Diner for happy hour in a historical building.

For culinary delights in the city, be sure to check out G. Michaels’s Bistro for delicious, local, and seasonal food, or the Refectory for French country fare with a nationally recognized wine list. Steak lovers will love both Hyde Park and Mitchell’s, two high-end steak houses within walking distance to our conference hotel, the Hyatt Regency. And, overlooking the Scioto riverfront you can enjoy eclectic American cuisine at Cameron Mitchell’s luxurious “M” restaurant. There are also excellent restaurants located in the Arena District surrounding your hotel.

With all to see and do in Columbus, some of you may consider extending your stay for a few days to experience all that Ohio has to offer.

For those that do, I would recommend taking about 4 days and heading to Cincinnati and visiting the Cincinnati Museum Center, taking a Riverboat Cruise on the Ohio River, and visiting the Newport Aquarium. Then, you can head north towards Millersburg and tour the Amish Country. Heading towards the Cleveland area, the wine country in northeastern Ohio along Lake Erie provides an unexpected and pleasurable experience. Once in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a popular spot to visit as is the Cedar Point Amusement Park, The Rollercoaster Capital of the World. On the way back to Columbus, a worthwhile stop would be to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. For golf lovers like me, you could easily spend a few days on the green of one of the many beautiful golf courses in the state.

Personally, I am partial to my hometown of Newark. There, you can see the famous Newark Earthworks, a system of mounds built by the Hopewell Indians. Of interest to others, as well as to architecture buffs, is the Longaberger Baskets and its unique headquarters building located in Newark. You can make an entire day out of visiting Longaberger including playing on a great golf course.

As you can see, there is so much to discover and experience in Columbus, and I cannot wait to share it all with you. To plan your visit, go to ExperienceColumbus.com. We’ll also have a Visitor Information table at the Conference located near the Exhibit Hall.

Thank you to the Columbus Host Committee for all their hard work and to our sponsors for their generosity and contributions. Lastly, thank you for being an active member of IEDC and if you are not one yet, maybe it is time.
See you in Columbus!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Finkle
President and CEO, IEDC