Best Foot Forward: A few (billion) reasons the 2018 SSG Conference was important
Earlier this week, a very special group descended on Greater Cincinnati for a series of presentations and networking events. But before they stepped foot into any conference room, JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati and other local partners treated them to a star-studded weekend showcasing the best of our region, from a ghost tour of Music Hall to a 50-yard-line clinic with the Bengals and breakfast with grantees at People’s Liberty.
You may be wondering: Who was this mysterious group taking a grand tour of our city? Simply put, they’re 44 attendees of the 2018 Site Selection Guild Conference who have the power to bring region-changing economic development projects to Greater Cincinnati. Naturally, we wanted to give them a warm welcome they won’t soon forget.
Photo: Steve Ziegelmeyer
Made up of professionals nominated and approved by their industry peers, the Site Selectors Guild provides location strategy to corporations across the globe and for every industry, sector and function. The Guild’s annual event is widely known as the “Super Bowl” of economic development conferences, and it features dozens of important opportunities to share industry knowledge and network. It also represented the largest gathering of site selection executives Greater Cincinnati has hosted at one time.
Early in 2016, REDI Cincinnati began strategically compiling a bid to host the highly competitive event — which in past years has taken place in Nashville, Tucson and Denver. This week’s events marked the conference’s first Midwest appearance, and it’s no coincidence that Greater Cincinnati formulated the winning bid; our region has been capturing attention from in recent years from national publications like Thrillist.com, Forbes and The New York Times, thanks to hugely successful events like the World Choir Games in 2012, the 2015 MLB All-Star Game and last year’s NAACP Convention.
“Greater Cincinnati is an exciting destination for our 2018 conference,” said SSG conference committee chair Gary Yates prior to the conference. “The region is rich with history and the city’s urban redevelopment will make it shine for 2018. We look forward to partnering with REDI Cincinnati to make this a memorable conference for guild members and economic developers.”
Search #SSGCincy on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to check out pictures from the events and in-the-moment reactions from site selectors themselves. And stay tuned to our social media channels to keep the momentum going for bringing locationally active companies to our amazing region!
Photo: NKY Tri-ED