This agenda is a work-in-progress and will be regularly updated.
MONDAY, May 15, 2024
Welcome to the 2024 CEOs for Cities Spring Cluster Workshop in Greenville! Registration will be at the Hotel, followed by a welcome reception. Enjoy dinner on your own in Greenville.
Noon - 5 p.m. Registration
Embassy Suites by Hilton | Greenville Downtown Riverplace (250 Riverplace)
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Opening Reception
Enjoy yourself at Passerelle Bistro, a casual bistro in Falls Park. Located at The Liberty Bridge, overlooking a beautiful Falls Park, it’s a perfect place to enjoy great food, beautiful views and some local music.
7:30 p.m. Dinner in Greenville
Enjoy dinner on your own in the city.
TUESDAY, May 16, 2024
Location: The Avenue (110 E. Court St.)
The first full day of the 2024 CEOs for Cities Cluster Workshop begins with complimentary breakfast at the Embassy Suites Hotel and opening remarks, followed by a day of programming — including a keynote speaker, panel discussions and city field trips in Greenville/Greer.
6 - 8 a.m. Embassy Suites + Hampton Inn Hotel Buffet Breakfast
However you like to start your day, we’ve got what will hit the spot, with more than enough coffee and beverages to get you going.
8:15 a.m. Welcome Remarks
Lee Fisher, CEOs for Cities
Bob Milbourne, Chair, CEOs for Cities Board, Columbus, OH
Mayor Rick Danner, Greer, SC
Mayor Knox White, Greenville, SC
8:30 - 9:15 a.m. Morning Keynote
Q&A with Jim Fallows includes Deborah Fallows, contributing writer for The Atlantic and the author of Dreaming in Chinese.
9:15 a.m. Greenville Downtown Story
Mayor Knox White, Greenville, SC
Mayor Rick Danner, Greer, SC
Jim Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic
10:15 a.m. Morning Break
Quick break to stretch your legs!
10:30 a.m. Greenville Panel
Panel will consist of prominent Greenville leaders telling their stories on how they are involved in making Greenville into what it is today! Moderated by Jim Fallows.
Pete Selleck, Chairman & President, Michelin North America, Inc
Jane Robelot, former co-anchor of CBS News This Morning
Knudt Flor, President and CEO, BMW Manufacturing
11:30 a.m. Break to Lunch
Quick break to stretch your legs!
12 p.m. Luncheon: Greenville Lightning Round
Dr. Cedric Adderley, South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities
Ryan Popple, CEO and President, Proterra
Cherington Shucker, Executive Director, Greenville Center for the Creative Arts
Jason Welch and Steven Nelson, Dogs of Greenville
Megan Reigel, President and CEO, Peace Center for the Performing Arts
Glenis Redmond, Peace Center Poet in Residence
Lynn Mann, Program Director, A.J. Whittenberg
1:30 p.m. Panel of Mayors
Mayor Edward Johnson, Fayetteville, GA
Mayor Miro Weinberger, Burlington VT
Mayor Eddie DeLoach, Savannah, GA
2:30 - 5 p.m. Greenville/Greer Field Trips
1. Trails and Development: easy ride — mostly flat trails
Capped at 20 riders
E-Bike Store/Art Crossing | Kroc Center, A.J. Whittenberg, and Arlington Properties | City Park | Hampton Station Project
2. Trails and Development: off the trail — more advanced ride
Capped at 20 riders
Link Apartments | Swamp Rabbit Inn | Outdoor Sports Marketing | Boyd Cycling | Swamp Rabbit Café | Hampton Station Project
3. Arts and Development
Fluor Field | CCE Boxing Gym (gym for high-risk youth) | Share Building Redevelopment (rent controlled creative/community space) | Village Plaza Construction (city funded urban plaza) | Mill Village Ministries - Village Wrench, Nasha Lending, Mill Village Farms | Greenville Center for the Creative Arts | Brandon Mill/Atlas Local (152 unit redevelopment cotton mill & co-work space)
4. Downtown Tour with Mayor White
Includes focus on public art, mixed use, Falls Park story
5. Greer: BMW Driving Experience
*Note: Must leave at lunch (12noon), will miss the lunch session
Capped at 20 people
The driving event will consist of a Performance Drive which is a variety of BMW vehicles doing laps on the auto cross course-everyone has the opportunity to be behind the wheel of each vehicle doing 2-3 laps in each; Off Road excursion in the X3’s and X5’s which are produced at the plant across the street. Here the guests will take the vehicles through an 18” water crossing, over Spiral Mountain-sometimes on 2 wheels, ascend and descend steep hills and experience first-hand how versatile these SAV’s really are!
Then, at the end of the driving exercises, the group will be invited to go for a hot lap taxi ride with a professional driver-most of the time at high speed and sideways! Think of it as a roller coaster ride on wheels!
6. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
NEXT facility, the Iron Yard, Endeavor, coworking spaces, includes a short panel with local entrepreneurs
7. Greenville’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiatives
Learn about Greenville’s efforts to revitalize its Special Emphasis Neighborhoods while creating affordable and workforce housing opportunities. On this tour you will have an opportunity to take in the successful elements that include citizen engagement, leveraging federal funding and involving non-traditional partners while respecting and preserving the rich history that makes these neighborhoods unique. Attendees will tour several neighborhoods, including one currently being developed.
5:30-7 p.m. Evening Reception
Clemson Space at Greenville ONE (1 North Main St.), reception sponsored by Clemson University. Come and relax on the outdoor patio after touring Greenville/Greer.
Special Guest Speaker - Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University
7 p.m. Dinner in Greenville
Enjoy dinner on your own in the city.
WEDNESDAY, May 17, 2024
Location: The Avenue (110 E. Court St.)
The final day of the 2024 Cluster Workshop.
6 - 8 a.m. Embassy Suites + Hampton Inn Hotel Buffet Breakfast
However you like to start your day, we’ve got what will hit the spot, with more than enough coffee and beverages to get you going.
8:15 a.m. Welcome Remarks
Lee Fisher, CEOs for Cities
Brian Payne, President of The Central Indiana Community Foundation and The Indianapolis Foundation
Wellington (Duke) Reiter, Exec. Dir., University City Exchange; Sr. Advisor, President, Arizona State University — Preview of Phoenix Fall National Meeting, October 30-November 1, 2024
8:30 a.m. Morning Keynote
Geoff Anderson, President + CEO, Smart Growth America
9:30 a.m. Break
Quick break to stretch your legs!
9:45 a.m. Lightning Round
How our City Clusters are Succeeding with the 11 signs of city success
David Ginsburg & Mindy Rosen — Cincinnati, OH
Mayor James Lienhoop — Columbus, IN
Walker Sanders & Sandy Dunbeck — Greensboro/High Point, NC
Duke Reiter — Phoenix, AZ
Tara Barney & Dave Heller — Quad Cities
Dean Roland Anglin — Cleveland, Ohio
Mary Bontrager — Des Moines, IA
Karen Radcliff & Brenda Myers — Hamilton County, IN
Brian Payne — Indianapolis, IN
Mayor Kyle Deaver, Matthew Polk & Pat Atkins — Waco, TX
11:30 a.m. Break to Lunch
Break to stretch your legs, grab some lunch and sit with your clusters for the next session!
12 p.m. Cluster Breakout Luncheon
Clusters sit together for lunch to discuss what they have learned throughout the entire workshop and how they are going to implement them into their own city.
1 p.m. Closing Keynote
Christian Sottile, Dean, School of Building Arts, Savannah College Art & Design (SCAD); Design Principal, Sottile & Sottile
A New Humanism
A New Humanism proposes cities as people—that our built environments literally provide expressions of our own experiences of our bodies, gestures and perceptions. This lecture will center on the art and science of urban design and why building for a more humane future is both timely and essential. Sottile will touch on how theorists over the centuries have sought and created human forms in architecture, juxtaposing appealing buildings with ones that are not, and connecting the very language we use to describe cities to the language of the body and of human perception. The lecture will make the case for integrating a greater awareness of these connections as we develop more humane ways of thinking about our places.