Seeking salvation

The thing with this regional economic development alliance thing is that I’m not feeling the religion. You’ll find me on the back pew working hard to suppress my cynicism as the congregation heads toward a recommitment in the fever of this newest of revivals.

What you should know is I sincerely want my cynicism to be proven wrong; that by the time the last altar call is made on the last day of the revival week of preachin’ and singin’ on the grounds, I’ll find some religion.

Also, I really like this Paul Harvel fella. He’s the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce president. He’s brought life back to our chamber since taking the job in April 2009. It’s my hope he can convince me to get the salvation. I want the salvation. But the salvation has been a fickle friend.

By way of background, The Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce took action that resulted in a regional economic development alliance — Fort Smith Regional Alliance — formed in May. The alliance includes cities and chambers in LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma and Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties in Arkansas. The big-picture goal is to bring the communities together with an approved socio-economic development strategy that will increase the number and improve the quality of regional jobs.

By way of more background, we’ve been down this regional alliance road a few times in the past seven years.

There was the bi-state coalition. It never really got off the ground.

That was followed by a regional effort that produced the TIP strategy (named after the Austin, Texas-based TIP Strategies consultancy that was paid a handsome fee to draft the report). The TIP strategy was a good report, and contained socio-economic development strategies, ideas and advice we might want to revisit. After raising a little more than $4 million to fund the effort, the TIP effort … ummm, well, it seems, ummmm, that, well, uhhhh, it resulted in, uhhh … well, the hell if I know what happened or where we are with that expensive piece of strategy.

Out of the TIP strategy was birthed two groups: The Young Emerging Leaders (YEL), and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. YEL has become much more of a party group, begging in some estimations to be renamed the Young Emerging Party People, or YEP. Wanna party? YEP. Wanna ‘nother drink? YEP. Wanna be out front in what could be a rough and tumble leadership role? NOPE.

The IEC was eventually absorbed into the academic bureaucracy of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. It hasn’t been seen since. Hoffa or Earhart might turn up before the IEC.

The common theme in the above failed or misguided efforts is a lack of leadership — too few leaders on the inside willing to push it forward, and too few leaders on the outside willing to help pull as the inside leaders pushed.

This is the part where, if honest, I’d admit that the aforementioned failed or misguided efforts are poor reasons for my cynicism. Just because something hasn’t worked previously doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try again. Right? If at first you don’t succeed …

And so I say my cynicism is misguided. Somewhat. Which is to add a caveat.

There is this thing called the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA). And there is this thing called the Northwest Arkansas Council. Without fancy logos, clever marketing plans or consultants, RITA was formed when a few folks worked their asses off in an about 18-month period to convince the Crawford and Sebastian county governments and the Fort Smith and Van Buren city governments to approve what is essentially another government entity in the region. That entity is now moving to secure funding for significant transportation infrastructure improvements in the area.

At great risk of oversimplifying a complicated history, the Northwest Arkansas Council was successful because it first created successes and then created alliances. It was Coach Holtz — if memory serves correctly — who once said nothing creates friendships in the locker room like victories on the playing field.

RITA and the Northwest Arkansas Council prove we don’t need all this touchy-feely, kumbaya, sit-in-a-circle and thing big thoughts stuff. Is it a good thing to get everyone singing the same hymn? Sure. No qualms with that. Hope like hell they are successful.

But success requires action. We know the things we need to do to recruit more and better paying jobs. Economic development is not, as Pres. George W. Bush might say, rocket surgery.

Finding innovative ways to promote entrepreneurship, support existing business and industry, targeting start up companies and commercialized ideas out of research universities and affiliated incubator programs and traditional white-collar recruitment are on the to-do list. Those activities should receive as much, if not more, energy and money as the development of regional alliances. And be skeptical of someone who suggests we first need regional alliances to support aggressive economic development. That’s a load of you-know-what intended to justify high-dollar consulting and marketing fees.

She didn’t mean to, but Dr. Jo Blondin, chancellor of Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus, stole my closing thunder for this essay. In the guest commentary she provided for this week, Blondin included this quote from C.S. Lewis: “Enough has been thought, and said, and felt, and imagined. It was about time that something should be done.”

And that’s where I’ll get religion, at the First Church of Do More and Talk Less.

Can I get an Amen?