LAUNCHING A NEW DECADE IN FOCUS
Greetings from FOCUS Greater Syracuse and the decade ahead.
FOCUS begins 2020 with a Forum on the Future on Friday Jan. 31
Attendance at FOCUS Forums roughly doubled year-over-year in 2019 driven by topics of vital interest to the community, coordination with like-minded organizations, and introductions to new leadership in city and county government, police, and broadcasting. Thank you to Syracuse University’s Office of Community Engagement and Thursday Morning Roundtable, WCNY, Leadership Greater Syracuse and National Grid, Onondaga Community College, Onondaga County, and the City of Syracuse for support and collaboration in these efforts.
FOCUS builds on this momentum and energy from the Citizens Academy Class of 2019 with a Forum on the Future 8 a.m. Jan. 31, 2020, in the atrium of City Hall Commons, 201 East Washington St., Syracuse.
FOCUS, which is the independent not-for-profit Forging Our Community’s United Strength, invites anyone with an interest in improving the quality of life in the Greater Syracuse area to bring ideas and questions that need answers to this launch for the new decade of FOCUS and Forums.
There are so many opportunities open here and now that the challenge for Greater Syracuse will be setting priorities and continued devotion to the work at hand. Come tell us where you want this community’s energy to go as the STEAM School and Syracuse Surge, I-81, the Southside Campus for the New Economy, Blueprint 15, and regional mega-warehouses and a statewide canal trail and lake loop are on the verge of becoming a reality. Building a more attractive welcoming, sustainable community and environmentally sound economy requires your focus.
Some words from a fearless FOCUS founder
2019 NEW YEAR MESSAGE
What is FOCUS Greater Syracuse?
“Forging Our Community’s United Strength,” FOCUS Greater Syracuse is a community-wide visioning program created with the goal of making Syracuse a better place to live and work. Started by a group of interested residents, the program, loosely modeled after several visioning projects around the country, came out of the desire to determine a course of action and growth for Syracuse. FOCUS Greater Syracuse is a not-for-profit organization.
What is different about FOCUS Greater Syracuse from other visioning programs is that the ideas came from thousands of every day folks, the citizens of Syracuse and Central New York, not from people in authority positions.
FOCUS asked the citizens of Greater Syracuse what their dreams were for the future of our community. What did they want Central New York to look like in the future? They came up with real goals. READ ABOUT THEM HERE.
We highlight 20 GOALS for 20 YEARS.
FOCUS Mission Statement
FOCUS is a citizen driven organization that taps citizen creativity
to bring about change in Central New York by enabling citizens,
organizations and government to work together to enhance the quality of our lives
and our economic future.
FOCUS engages in citizen-centered research, engagement and planning.
www.focussyracuse.org
FOCUS Board of Directors
Current Board
BOARD
Carrie Carapella, SRC, Inc.
Sean Daughton, Dannible & McKee, LLP
Daniel Feng, P.E.C., Inc.
Robert Haley, Architect, AIA, LEED, AP
Suzann Hensley, American Red Cross
Brian Hoke, Bentley Hoke LLC
Michelle Jones Galvin, Onondaga County administration, retired
Carlene Lacey, National Grid
Michael LaMontagne, C&S Companies
Andrea Latchem, Syracuse University retired
Donald Radke, FM Realty, Board President & acting Executive Director
Kathleen Rapp, Onondaga County Legislature, retired
Rita Reicher, KS&R
David E. Rogers, SUNY Morrisville
Amy Rood, Brown & Sanford Consulting, LLC
William Sanford, Brown & Sanford Consulting, LLC
Nancy H. Smith, N H Smith Consulting
Mary Thompson, Home Builders & Remodelers of Central New York
Ahmeed Turner, Say Yes to Education
Emeritus
Bill Brod, Syracuse New Times
Lucille Browning, Citizen Volunteer
Kevin Magdon, Hilton Worldwide
Andrew Maxwell, C&S Cos., SUNY ESF
Judith Mower, JC Mower Consultants
George Puzey, GA Puzey Consultants
Rosie Taravella, American Red Cross
2019 NEW YEAR MESSAGE
2018 NEW YEAR MESSAGE
FOCUS Staff
Don Radke
Acting Executive Director and Board President
focus@syrgov.net
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Jim’s Letter of Thanks to Friends of FOCUS
James Keib
Former FOCUS Executive Director
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Charlotte “Chuckie” Holstein
Executive Director Emeritus
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Dee Klees
Communications Director
focus@syrgov.net
dklees@syrgov.net
315-448-8731 (o) 315-559-0812 (m)