By Dean Whittaker There is a season for most things. Currently, it is the season of cultivating and planting. Gardening is a great metaphor for what we do in economic development and throughout life. Much of gardening requires preparing the soil, making sure it has...
By Dean Whittaker This month’s theme is, What’s Next? Earlier in the month, I attended the IAMC (Industrial Asset Management Council) Spring Forum in Tampa. It was an informative meeting and well attended. The keynote speaker was Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical...
By Dean Whittaker In this article, I would like to share with you a few thoughts about the why, how, and what of becoming an age-friendly community. First, what does it mean to be age-friendly? Age-friendly means to be sensitive to the needs of people of all ages,...
By Dean Whittaker This month’s book recommendations include Thomas Friedman’s, “Thank You for Being Late,” and Atul Gawande’s, “Being Mortal.” In Friedman’s book, we learn that the rate of change is accelerating, driven by technology that has...
By Dean Whittaker The Poem, “If,” by Rudyard Kipling comes to mind as I reflect on the times. Here’s a section from it as a reminder and a link to the entire poem: “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If...
