Sam Killebrew, a member of myregion.org’s leadership, remembers when Orlando was a small town. And he remembers when his native Polk County began changing due to growth that continues to impact the face of Central Florida’s business and residential communities. Today, Killebrew, whose business is headquartered in Lakeland, is focused on directing the destiny of Central Florida and its position in an unavoidably expanding global economy.

And that’s why he is actively involved in the myregion.org initiative. Killebrew serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Leadership Council; co-chairs the Government Essential Activities Workshop and is a member of the Speakers Bureau. “I always want to be the driver, not the rider,” says Killebrew, president of Killebrew, Inc., an underground utility company that specializes in service to municipalities.

Thinking big isn’t always easy, according to the Auburndale native. But it’s becoming necessary as the seven-county region’s astonishing growth pattern continues. As a small business owner, Killebrew, said that seeing and embracing “the big picture” can be overwhelming when one is dealing with the daily needs of his or her own company. And, as a businessman who lives in Polk County, right between Orlando and Tampa, he is accustomed to and understands the benefits and requirements of expanding traditional ways of thinking about jurisdictional and other boundaries.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to see beyond the customers that you’re serving. A lot of times, you’re not exposed to the things that are happening outside your immediate world. Sometimes getting involved outside seems unattainable,” he said, referring to why some small business owners seem focused on their local marketplace rather than taking a more global perspective. “But, if you don’t move forward, it limits your opportunities to advance and grow,” he said.

That’s why he is actively involved in the myregion.org initiative, a two-year critical analysis of the seven-county area to identify issues, opportunities and needs of the region as well as to inspire consensus and generate new leadership opportunities. Killebrew said he supports planned growth, and that a regional commitment is necessary to effectively plan for the region’s future.

Killebrew said the region, like the rest of the world, is being affected by major forces of globalization, advances in technology and the new knowledge economy. “Natural regions - like Central Florida,” he said, “not cities, counties or states - are becoming the primary drivers for world competition.” He added that he sees the key to Central Florida's future lying in our ability to define its functional region and learning how to think and act as a single competitive unit instead of as unconnected jurisdictions.

But it takes effort on the part of small business owners to genuinely embrace this time of great opportunity for the Central Florida region and to define how it can and will be positioned in the changing global network.

“I hear a lot of conversation, a multitude of opinions about how we’re going to deal with it, and each seems to have his or her own ideas,” Killebrew continued. The objectives for myregion.org however, are intended to prompt a broader level of communication and information sharing, beneficial to the seven counties that are so closely interconnected.

“There might be a county or city where a growth issue is managed very well. If so, let’s ask them what they did…and learn what can work for our region” That level of communication between inter-county and inter-city governmental agencies isn’t common but could be effective, he noted. Opening those doors wider is what he hopes to see improve after the results of the myregion.org research.