Our view: Visionary Tom Clark will be remembered for his reach
The idea that eventually became Reach was born in a conference room at the Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce in August 2017.
That’s when Tom Clark, visionary behind the Greater Denver Economic Development Corp. talked about the city’s regional approach to building a more diversified economy in a conversation with several dozen leaders from San Luis Obispo and North Santa Barbara County.
The Business Times was in the room where it happened, and Clark’s vision struck a chord with SLO County leaders like Trust Automation CEO Ty Safreno, who were grappling with the prospect of the closing of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant and with the emergence of an innovation culture at Cal Poly that was spinning out startups at a rapid clip.
Clark, 76, passed away in Denver on March 19 after battling a form of degenerative dementia for the past seven years. Word of his death brought back memories to those who went on the trip and benefited from an approach that would maximize the advantages of a region that had the Santa Maria Valley’s land, workforce and aerospace infrastructure with San Luis Obispo’s tech industry and academic heft.
“Tom Clark, the godfather of regionalism, sparked the vision behind the movement REACH proudly champions today,” said Reach CEO Melissa James in an email to the Business Times. “I’ll never forget how just one hour with Tom during a SLO Chamber trip with 35 regional leaders in 2017 sparked an entirely new conversation — one we’re still benefitting from today.”
In Denver, it will largely go unnoticed that Clark had such a long-lasting influence on the many communities he hosted for his uncommonly folksy talks about the power of multiplying a region’s assets rather than dividing it into fiefdoms.
But James and others were taking notes. “He showed us firsthand what’s possible when collaboration takes precedence over competition. Those early conversations with Tom galvanized my belief that communities thrive when united by a shared purpose. His legacy is deeply woven into our mission, inspiring bold, collective action for lasting impact,” James said.
You can see the lengthening shadow of Clark’s vision in the announcement of a collaboration between Cal Poly and Allan Hancock College that will speed the way for transfers into a four-year B.S. in Business Administration degree on the Santa Maria campus. With negotiations for other degree programs on the way in an area that has had a chronic lack of a public, four-year degree option for decades.
Clark would be proud of the efforts to expand ties between SLO and North Santa Barbara County in agribusiness, entrepreneurship, aerospace and higher education. And he’d be proud of Paso Robles and the much more diversified economy of Northern SLO County. As metro Denver struggles with affordability, crime and traffic woes, his efforts to create a more effective regional economy on the Central Coast might be one of his most successful endeavors.
TAKE A BOW
California Lutheran University economists Matthew Fienup and Dan Hamilton have been named as recipients of a 2024 Crystal Ball Award for the Fannie Mae Home Price Expectations Survey.
This is their fourth time receiving the award for the survey which formerly was the Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey and the Case-Shiller Home Price Expectations Survey.
The team at the CLU Center For Economic Research & Forecasting won for their forecast of 2024 home prices, the most accurate among more than 100 forecasters, including Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics, Denis Egin of the International Monetary Fund, Susan Wachter of the Wharton School, and Carlos Garriga of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
