Nearly two decades after their first visit, the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce headed back to the exciting, forward-focused city of Nashville. Business and community leaders – from Columbus, Harris County, Phenix City, Albany and Macon – immersed themselves in a town that has transformed itself into one of the hottest destinations to live, work, play and visit in the nation.  

Bill Murphy, EVP, Economic Development at the Columbus Chamber kicked-off the trip by reviewing Columbus’ Regional Prosperity Initiative, while Billy Blanchard, Inter-City Leadership Conference (ICLC) Chair encouraged attendees to use the Regional Prosperity Initiative as a framework for the next three days. 

“By design, the cities chosen for these trips are larger than Columbus, allowing leaders to stretch their vision and aspirations beyond the confines of what we are to the possibilities of what we can be,” said Amy Bryan, the Chamber’s EVP of Community and Leadership Development.  

Ranked 5th on Forbes' Regions to Watch in 2014 list, Nashville is on fire right now, with recent successes in private and public partnerships, urban development, economic development, education, tourism, healthcare and talent attraction. Attendees spent three days touring Nashville and hearing business leaders, community activists and progressive thinkers. 

“It’s one of the hottest cities going in virtually any ranking of positive economic development,” said Chamber President Brian Anderson. “The progress they’ve made there is remarkable, and we can learn from the investment and commitment Nashville officials made to get where they are today.”

Nashville manages to tell the story of Music City better than almost any other city. The brand can be seen across the city with participation from the business community and general public. This provided inspiration on how a city can truly embrace an inspiring brand. Leaders came away with the challenge to identify what makes it different than other cities and build a brand the entire community can embrace. 

“When selecting a city to visit we typically look at riverfront development, economic development, downtown development and education to see what can be applied in Columbus,” said Chamber Preseident Brain Anderson. “The larger cities typically have been there and done that. We want to learn from them. We want to know what worked and what didn’t and what they would do differently next time.”  

This year’s trip had more attendees than any other year. The Chamber attributes this increase to a shift in the sense of ownership people are taking in the city they call home. A shift that has people wanting to get actively involved in cultivating Columbus to be the best it can be. A shift that has people excited about making a change. This year’s delegation has no doubt seen the outstanding results of past ICLC trips and wants to be a part of the process. 

“Intentional planning and intentional engagement by the business community over the past 25 years is what has made Nashville the city it is today,” said Anderson. “Through our Regional Prosperity Initiative our community is creating a plan that follows this successful format.” 

Nashville’s culture of visioning, planning and partnering is also evident in Columbus and the surrounding communities.  

“Seeing a city like Nashville, that is much larger and further along than we are, validates our work and investment,” added Anderson.