You may have heard about a new effort titled “TBD Colorado”. And if you have heard of it, you likely wondered what in the world is TBD Colorado?
TBD (“To Be Determined”) Colorado is a nonpartisan, collaborative effort designed to create informed and constructive conversations among Coloradans about some of the biggest issues facing the state. TBD Colorado will begin hosting community meetings throughout Colorado in April and May (including Eagle County meetings on April 18 and May 23 at the EagleVail Pavilion). Several additional public summits will be held in June. Importantly, no state dollars will be spent on TBD Colorado.
From their website: “TBD Colorado” is a project which Governor Hickenlooper launched as part of his recent “State of the State” address. TBD Colorado is an unprecedented effort to engage citizens across the state in a non-partisan conversation to find common-sense solutions to some of the biggest public policy challenges facing our state.
The long-term goals of the project include:
The Economic Council of Eagle County and the Vail Valley Partnership will be representing our community at these important regional meetings. We have done a variety of outreach via last years Eagle County Development Plan as well as this years Workforce Report and the Partnership’s membership survey to help gauge what’s important to our members and what trends our business community are seeing.
TBD Colorado is a unique approach in both its size and structure. By hosting meetings in over 30 communities throughout the state, TBD will be one of the largest and most inclusive civic engagement efforts in our state’s history. And, by targeting and empowering a balanced spectrum of individuals within each community to engage in this conversation, TBD will promote constructive dialogue on these important issues instead of competing rhetoric.
Ultimately, the goal of this statewide TBD effort is to identify good public policy solutions that Colorado can implement to improve our quality of life and enhance our economic competitiveness. An additional important note is that this is a non-partisan effort designed to include folks from a variety of industries throughout the state to have a voice in the future. The meeting on April 18 at the EagleVail Pavilion is open to the public should you be interested in attending.
On a related note, the Economic Council and the Partnership are also involved in the Colorado Blueprint, through the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Throughout the year, their office will continue to meet with business leaders from key industries, including Electronics, Energy & Natural Resources, Bioscience, Food & Agriculture, Defense & Homeland Security, Aerospace, Information, Health & Wellness, Creative Industries, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation, Transportation and Logistics, Infrastructure Engineering & Construction, and Financial & Business Services. Rest assured that we’ll be working closely to ensure that Eagle County has a seat at the table to help drive our regional growth and to explore future opportunities for our community.
What can your business do to help? If you benefit from these regional and statewide efforts, get off the sidelines and join the Partnership to ensure your voice is heard. If you are already a member, tell your neighbors to join to help us do more here in the valley.
As always, I encourage all member businesses to get engaged with the Partnership and to contact us with any suggestions you may have to help us better serve you and for non-members to join the Partnership. Call us at (970) 476-1000 or stop by our offices in Avon at Traer Creek Plaza to share your feedback.