Great Cities Symposium 2023 Welcomed AG Lafley
Scenic Jacksonville hosted its Great Cities Symposium 2023 at the Garden Club Jacksonville on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with guest speaker AG Lafley.
The former CEO of Proctor & Gamble, Lafley shared his insight and experience as a civic and nonprofit leader with more than 350 engaged Jacksonville community members and city leaders in attendance, including Mayor Donna Deegan, City Council President Ron Salem, Councilmembers Joe Carlucci and Nick Howland and Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer.
Ahead of Lafley’s presentation, Scenic Jacksonville Executive Director Nancy Powell said this annual event is a “conversation” with the community.
“It’s a continuing conversation about how we can make Jacksonville better and what are the lessons we can learn from other cities,” she said. “Nothing is cookie-cutter, every city is different, but we’ve been able to watch what other cities have done and to bring the speakers here to talk about their experiences. To let the community ask questions has just been really a wonderful growing event we’re able to host.”
Powell said Scenic Jacksonville focuses on inviting speakers from mid-size cities whose scale is comparable to that of Jacksonville to learn about both their successes and their challenges.
Lafley shared his experiences as founder and board chair of Cincinnati Center Development (3CDC) and his role in transforming downtown Cincinnati into a destination both residents and tourists now enjoy throughout the year as well as his work as The Bay Park Conservancy’s founding CEO in Sarasota, where he helped create a “50-plus acre, beautifully designed and delightfully programmed signature bayfront public park.”
His remarks provided timely insight for Jacksonville as it continues to work towards creating its own riverfront destination parks and public spaces in downtown for its residents and visitors to enjoy. Lafley shared powerful before-and-after photos from his time in Cincinnati and Sarasota to underscore what his teams and their city partners started working with and what they were able to achieve together.
“I think this all begins with commitment, real commitment to your community, real commitment to your city,” he said in his introductory remarks.
In an e-mail following the presentation, Powell wrote, in part, “AG Lafely brought unique insights from a business and civic perspective that complemented prior speakers, who had served as mayors. Showing how it has been done successfully is inspirational and motivating. I personally resonated with his message that Jacksonville already has the people and the resources to transform our downtown and riverfront. We need to continue the commitment and focus and not get distracted.”
This is the fourth annual Great Cities Symposium Scenic Jacksonville has hosted. Its previous speakers have included Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield and Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston.
By Michele Leivas
Resident Community News
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading... 
