Eyes on the Future

I went to the Rochester business pep rally called "Eyes on the Future" Friday morning and felt jazzed. Even though the Rochester and New York State economies are in the crapper, I left feeling hope. I always say that for a city our size, we do amazing things. And the thing I felt good about was the people that were there. We have some top notch people and leaders in our community. Kudos to Tom Ioele for putting the event together.

I feel confort knowing that Dennis Mullen, former head of Greater Rochester Enterprise is now the upstate president of the Empire State Development Corp. I am also grateful that we have a sensible County Execetive in Maggie Brooks who gets along with our Mayor, Bob Duffy. I have great respect for both.

And last but not least, it's been fulfilling to watch Governor Paterson become a leader. The role of Governor was thrust upon him and like Abraham Lincoln did, he is evolving into a leader for our times. I strongly disagree with his SUNY cuts but at least he is not hiding his head in the sand and seems to battling our state's finanacial crisis head on.

So, while I watch the news and stock market, I feel like we are approaching times of doom and gloom. The "Eyes on the Future" event was just the shot in the arm I needed to be reminded that at the end of the day, it all about people and great leaders getting us back on track.

We have them here in Rochester. Everything will be all right.