Dear TeamCalifornia Members:

I have spent the past few weeks on the job as the new CEO of CoreNet Global doing a lot of listening. Serving as “chief listening officer,” I have charged myself with hearing from all of the organization’s stakeholders: end users, service providers, economic developers, sponsors, exhibitors, partners, chapters, communities and SIGs. I believe the economic development community is a vital part of our association’s success, and I recognize there is much work to do to strengthen the value proposition we offer you. To this end, I have formed an economic development focus group and have asked Mary Ingersoll to serve on the commmitte comprised of your peers with the following goals in mind:

Identify challenges and opportunities in economic development membership and participation

Seek tangible ways of addressing economic development concerns

Foster an inclusive, ongoing, open dialogue

Reinvigorate economic development engagement

Produce key recommendations and action items to begin implementing at the 2010 Global Summit in Phoenix

The focus group convened its first meeting in May and will reconvene via teleconference June 25. Please help us get your ideas and input on the table by contacting Mary Ingersoll at 916.791.9900 or email her at mary@teamca.org  in advance of this call. We need and want to hear what you have to say. Following the meeting, we will report back our progress and keep you engaged every step of the way.

Focus group members include:

Dennis Donovan, WDG Consulting, 1.908.864.5580, ddonovan@wdgconsulting.com  

David Driver, Northeast Utilities, 1.860.665.6312, drivedc@nu.com

Mario Hernandez, San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, 1.210.226.1394, marioh@sanantonioedf.com

Mary Ingersoll, Team California, 1.916.791.9900, mary@teamca.org

Robin Ronne, Greater Fort Lauderdale-Broward Alliance, 1.954.627.0126, rronne@browardalliance.org

Gray Swoope, Mississippi Development Authority, 1.601.359.9388, gswoope@mississippi.org

Holly Wiedman, Miami-Dade Beacon Council, 1.305.579.1352, hwiedman@beaconcouncil.com

Thank you for all you’ve done for CoreNet Global over the years. I am confident we can find ways to partner together in meaningful ways moving forward.

Sincerely,

Angela Cain
Chief Executive Officer
CoreNet Global
404-589-3210 office
404-645-4212 cell
acain@corenetglobal.org

cc:  Mary Ingersoll