Looking for Leadership

For the second year in a row in 2007, Atlas Van Lines moved more people out of Florida than into the state, reflecting what Southwest Floridians are seeing every day—friends and neighbors moving away and houses languishing on the market for months.

Perhaps more than any other time in recent memory, Southwest Florida needs strong leadership that transcends political and geographical jurisdictions.

Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties have differences and needs. But when it comes to battling for the big items—economic advancement, education, capital, water resources, infrastructure, quality-of-life issues—it makes sense to unite under a regional banner rather than proceeding as fractured, competing entities.

Community and political leaders have been advocating regionalism for years, and a number of organizations here do have a regional focus on specific issues, such as the Alliance of Educational Leaders, the Regional Business Alliance of Southwest Florida and the Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative, to name a few.

But in spite of efforts by people such as Richard Pegnetter, dean of FGCU’s College of Business, and Richard Botthof, executive director of the Regional Business Alliance, an umbrella organization that presents a united front for the region still hasn’t taken shape. As Botthof says, "Until we get a well-defined, regional branding and marketing platform, we are irrelevant in the state, the nation and globally."