2015 Our Upstate Vision Forum Series: 

Forum 1- Overcoming the Failure to Act: Investing in Transportation & Infrastructure

Keynote Speaker, Former Governor of Pennsylvania, ED RENDELL!

As the Upstate region continues to grow from 1.4 million residents today to a projected 1.62 million in 2030, ensuring proper transportation and infrastructure that supports business and employment growth while continuing to get people and freight from place to place is crucial.

Like many areas across the country, the Upstate region has struggled with the challenges associated with maintaining and improving transportation and infrastructure programs. How to Overcome the Failure to Act is a topic being debated not just here in South Carolina, but in communities all over the country.

During the first Our Upstate Vision Forum of 2015, Ed Rendell, the former two-term Governor of the State of Pennsylvania and co-chair of the national organization Building America's Future, will provide insight into why it is crucial to move past the politics and work collaboratively to ensure that South Carolina and the rest of the United States is positioned to maintain and grow its place as a global economic power.

The forum will also include a presentation from the American Society of Civil Engineers focused on the benefits of investing in a robust multimodal infrastructure network, including roads, bridges, and public transportation, and the ramifications of not doing so. Completing the program will be examples of current Upstate efforts that are working to reduce traffic congestion and support transportation programs in the region.

The forum will be held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on April 9th at the Greenville Marriott with a networking reception to follow. Cost to attend is $10 and advance registration is required.

This Regional Forum is also serving as the first in the Shaping Our Future Speaker Series, a regional collaboration between Ten at the Top, Upstate Forever, the Riley Institute at Furman University, the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors, and the Upstate SC Alliance. The goal of the series is to inspire dialogue regarding the connections between land use decisions, transportation options, housing choices and quality of life.

About Governor Rendell: After 34 years of public service, including 24 as an elected official, Governor Rendell continues to pursue many of the same issues he was passionate about while serving as Mayor of the City of Philadelphia (1992-2000) and Governor of the State of Pennsylvania (2003-2011). His commitment to making America a cleaner, more efficient place and to fostering investment in our nation's crumbling infrastructure remains strong. Among his current endeavors, Governor Rendell serves along with former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger as co-chairs of Building America's Future, a bipartisan coalition of elected officials dedicated to bringing about a new era of U.S. investment in infrastructure that enhances our nation's prosperity and quality of life.