As I write this, I am representing CVEP on a week-long tour across America. Some of the travel is also for personal reasons, but when you are the CEO of an organization, you represent the place you lead 24/7.
My first stop was Evansville, Indiana, where community leaders had organized a book signing for Living Outside the Box. The signing was attended by many old friends, as well as former elected officials, candidates for office and one prominent billionaire with Orange County interests. The attendees asked many insightful questions about the Greater Palm Springs region. They wondered how a fringe community with bandwidth challenges could form the kinds of partnerships required to solve big, regional problems. CVEP will soon be having some visitors from middle America who are interested in seeing what we have done.
My second stop was my alma mater, Union County High School. I attended on an invitation to give the closing remarks at the 2019 commencement. This was particularly special because my grandson, a nephew, and two cousins were among the graduates. Nearly five thousand people were in attendance and heard great words about CVEP and the partnerships that we have.
Finally, I am attending the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference in New York City all this week. The conference will be an opportunity to learn and discuss the future innovations in healthcare, fashion, technology, and other leading topics. This is important for CVEP and the Coachella Valley: we either stay aware and participate in the future economy, or we miss out. I will be blogging daily from this leg of the CVEP Across America Tour, sharing things that may be good opportunities for our region. Please check back and join in the learning opportunity with me.
