www.HowShallWeGrow.org is the latest place to get all of the updates on the Central Florida Regional Growth Vision currently underway.  Led by myregion.org, a series of 21 Community Input Meetings are being held throughout the seven-county region.  In addition to just-in-time postings, visitors to this latest use of technology by myregion.org can provide their own opinions and commentary.

Whether your prefer information in written summaries, audio clips, photo galleries, or public commentary, www.HowShallWeGrow.org has it all!  Now midway through the series scheduled in May and June, hundreds of citizens have participated in community meetings in Lake, Volusia, Seminole and Osceola Counties.  The first Orange County meeting will be held Monday evening.  Due to overwhelming response and space restrictions, that meeting is essentially “maxed out” with 150 people registered  The good news is that you are not required to attend meetings in your county of residence.  For your convenience, all meetings are open.  Choose the location that works best for you.  Click here for a schedule of remaining meetings across the region:  http://myregion.org/

A few quick facts from the Osceola County meeting include:

Response to the question “How many of you were born here?” - Just 3 out of 98 in attendance.

Osceola County is unique in the region, given the fact that its governance covers just two cities.  By comparison, Orange County has 13 cities and several other counties include 15-17 cities.

Participants were reminded of Osceola County’s rich heritage.  Arriving for the meeting at  Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, we were greeted by 700 horses taking part in a rodeo at the Silver Spurs Arena.

In all of our stops across the Central Florida region, we’re seeing a mixture of local residents, government officials, school board members and planners. The number of residents who attend the sessions and want to become involved in this process is encouraging.  Osceola County Commissioner Ken Smith concluded the evening by saying he was very pleased with the level of involvement from the community in discussing the future growth of the region.

“How Shall We Grow? – Creating a Shared Vision for Central Florida” is a fifteen-month process that brings together local, regional and state agencies in a partnership to design our collective future.  The Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Department of Transportation, the Central Florida MPO Alliance, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and myregion.org have combined their professional talents and resources to take this message to the people of our region. 

myregion.org - A Regional Development Program - is designed to bring together the business, government and civic leadership representing the seven-county Central Florida region to develop a regional agenda for thought and action to ensure Central Florida's success in the 21st century global marketplace. 

For additional information, visit:

www.HowShallWeGrow.org

www.myregion.org

www.orlando.org

http://www.osceola.org/