GARY | The local kickoff of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative in Gary took place at the Genesis Convention Center on Tuesday, with its initial speaker telling more than 200 community leaders that opportunity and talent are the keys to success.
"Conventional wisdom is not always so wise when it comes to cities," said Carol Coletta, vice president for community and national initiatives at the Knight Foundation. "The end of the story is never pre-ordained."
Those sentiments echoed the message of Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, whose administration's close partnerships with federal agencies bore fruit in January when the city was selected as one of seven to participate in the Obama Administration's next round of Strong Cities, Strong Communities.
The Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative has already resulted in $370 million in investment in the six cities picked for its pilot program in 2012. In January, Gary and six others were selected for the next round.
"It has been said as the city of Gary goes, so goes the region," Freeman-Wilson said from the podium. "But I would submit Gary is not just important to us ... and not just to the region and not just to the state of Indiana. But Gary is of critical importance to the national economy as well."
Mark Linton, the executive director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, told the crowd of about 250 that Gary is getting attention from the highest levels of government.
Running through Wednesday, the symposium will explore the themes of building diverse economies, sustaining the environment, protecting health and ensuring the quality of life in Northwest Indiana, Freeman-Wilson said.
The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have two employees working full time at Gary City Hall as a result of the initiative, she said.
Housing and Urban Development Region 5 Administrator Antonio Riley told the audience the White House's Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative is all about working to help economically distressed communities get on their feet.
"This will provide broad benefits to the entire region," Riley said. "When we started, our work was about Northwest Indiana. And that lifted Gary to a new level. But the spotlight is still on all of Northwest Indiana."