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For more information, contact Suzie Ahlstrand at 316-268-1135

Visioneering Wichita receives national stewardship award

Wichita, KS (June 16, 2010) – Visioneering Wichita has been selected to receive the 2010 Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS) Organizational Champion Award presented by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The ARS is a national, peer-to-peer network of regional leaders working across boundaries to solve tough community problems. Judges evaluated each entry based on the four principles of regional stewardship: innovative economy, livable communities, social inclusion, and a collaborative style of governance. Scores were awarded based on five criteria: context, innovation and excellence, performance, cohesiveness, and replicability. “This award is meaningful because it comes from our Chamber professional association and is judged by our peers,” said Bryan Derreberry, President and CEO of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates the Visioneering Wichita effort. “The award recognizes our ability to pro-actively target specific results, such as increasing our metro area’s per capital income and available job opportunities.” Visioneering Wichita’s entry fulfilled all of the criteria because of the strong regional partnerships that have been instrumental in its success over the past six years. Visioneering involves private and public partners and is led by volunteers who work together to implement the vision of more than 16,000 citizens and community leaders. “This award exemplifies Visioneering’s cooperative spirit, which has improved our ability to work together as a region,” said Jon Rolph, volunteer chair for Visioneering Wichita. “We are fortunate to have strong partnerships with the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County and the Chamber, and as a result we have achieved tangible results and demonstrated the potential for sustainable progress. It is wonderful to have that recognized at a national level.” A steering committee of 50 citizens, demographically representative of the MSA, maps strategies that guide Visioneering. More than 500 regional volunteers in 15 strategic alliances take action on how to directly benefit the 600,000+ residents of the four-county Wichita MSA. Visioneering Wichita will be honored during the ACCE Awards show on Thursday, August 5, 2010, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Visioneering Wichita is the comprehensive long-range planning initiative for south-central Kansas. Partners include the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, City of Wichita, and Sedgwick County, as well as hundreds of organizations, businesses and individuals who participate in 15 strategic alliances designed to improve the regional economy and quality of life.

Organizations that have funded Visioneering efforts and founding partners: Wichita Community Foundation Kansas Health Foundation John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Sedgwick County Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce City of Wichita Wichita Downtown Development Corp. Westar Energy Fidelity Bank Foundation Foulston Siefkin LLC Sullivan Higdon & Sink, Inc. Delta Dental of Kansas, Inc. Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C. Meritrust Credit Union K.T. Wiedemann Foundation

The strategic plan and more information can be found at www.visioneeringwichita.com

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