Harnessing the Opportunities of the World Equestrian Games

The World Equestrian Games are coming to Kentucky in 2010 — less than two years from now.

In the way that we often assume too much, in one encounter with the Mayor of Beirut, Lebanon, at a conference in Boston, I assumed he knew little of English and least of all Kentucky. I started out slowly and deliberately, “I am from K-E-N-T-U-C-K-Y!” As I was about to add something along the lines of “you know … Kentucky Fried Chicken, derby,” he suddenly interrupted me and extolled in beautifully accented but perfect English, ‘I know Kentucky — as a young engineer I was in Paducah, Central City, Louisville and in Lexington!’ I was flabbergasted at our ‘international’ appeal. Kentuckians barely know of Central City.

My point is that as we head toward the 2010 Games, we have much to get excited about, yet much work to be done. What do the Games mean for communities? How will we play in the media in light of some of the more negative images we have to others around the world (CNN’s portrayal of Clay County during the primary), and what will be the aftereffects…

Read the entire article by Sylvia Lovely
Date:  10-02-2008
Source:  bizlex.com