Celebrating My 3 Year Anniversary

On November 20th, we will host the Social District’s Annual Meeting.  The event will take place at the Herald Examiner, an impeccably restored historic building and part of Arizona State University’s growing downtown footprint. This year’s meeting happens to mark the three-year anniversary of the day I was offered the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of the South Park BID.   

I was offered this opportunity during the week of Thanksgiving that year and asked if it was possible I could start the following Monday. While I was still commuting to Los Angeles from Vancouver every Sunday, we planned the annual meeting and held it at our office. We served wine and cheese to a gathering of less than 20. We still have leftover wine bottles in our copy room. 

The following year we hosted our meeting with live brass music on the Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum.  As a thank you, we gave everyone in attendance a one-year membership to the museum. And last year we unveiled our new brand identity strategy, from the South Park Center Penthouse and Sky Deck, with an inspiring view of the district we hope to market. 

I think we’ve come a long way!  My expectation is that this year’s event will be memorable. Not just for the experience of sipping Social District Lager in a vibrant setting and celebrating community, but for the look ahead to the future.  And for what I expect to be engaging conversations with our lineup of distinguished guests.  

With just under a thousand days before the Olympics and months before the world arrives for World Cup, the Honorable Paul Krekorian, Executive Director of the Office of Major Events, will join us for an overview of what’s to come. What impact will hosting events have on our local businesses? How will Mayor Bass’ Games for All vision and recently signed directive be executed to expedite public investments and much needed pedestrian improvements that will create lasting assets, not just short-term wins for visitors. 

And when we look ahead to the future, a conversation with Rick Caruso – the developer behind the Grove and the Americana – will be an appropriate cap to our evening.  Caruso is not just a real estate visionary, but the spaces he’s created are clearly riffs on the vibrant downtowns of someone’s dreams – complete with a faux streetcar that doesn’t really go anywhere but somehow enhances the value of the experience.  If there are lessons for creating iconic, welcoming, and financially vibrant spaces that attract pedestrian counts as high as theme parks, I look forward to discussing those with him in detail.  I also look forward to discussing the reality of the current issues we must overcome, and what challenges and virtues separate public space from private space; there were thousands of people protesting peacefully in downtown this weekend, while the people-watching and commerce continued unabated at the Grove. How can we build so that both coexist in the Social District of our dreams?       

I’m excited for our Annual Meeting! There’s a lot of wins to look back on, some new programs and initiatives to announce, and clearly, we expect to have great engagement with Director Krekorian and Rick Caruso. If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, you can do so here.  We’re a month away, but tickets will go fast, and I’d be very surprised (and disappointed) if there is any leftover wine in the copy room after this year’s meeting.