on March 2, 2010 / by Downtown Dallas Inc. / in Blog Posts, DDI News, Doing Business
Surely if you follow this blog you know that today was one of our largest signature events – the annual meeting and luncheon. The formal news release recap is below (keep scrolling) – but a few highlights…
We launched a new brand for the organization. First, you may now call us Downtown Dallas, Inc. (or inevitably DDI for short). This should be a welcome change for all of our media friends who consistently have difficulty distinguishing us as a managing body from the actual geography of Downtown. So please, we kindly beg of you to discard all of those creative tags to make the distinction (aka..”a booster club”!). And no more all-caps-bold-downtown-no-I-said-caps… whew!
Second, welcome our new mark, from the creative genius at Weber Shandwick –
Wick Allison moderated a lively panel (more below) in which all pointed to the importance of the Creative Economy in fueling today’s market, and cited particular evidence right here in Big D. And with each panelist having moved their companies to Downtown within the last three years, all pointed to the “rise of the creative class” (to steal blatantly from Florida) within the Downtown demographic as a key factor in their move. Ken Luce with Weber Shandwick admitted doubt at first, unsure of the talent pool he would find here, but joked that on this one rare occasion, he was proven wrong.
I’ll leave the rest of the recap to Tim Rogers over at Frontburner who has much more of an entertaining debrief than I have the energy for after today’s efforts. http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2010/03/02/downtown-dallas-annual-meeting-the-recap/#more-32979. Though Tim, the 2005 event was actually our second largest to today’s. I just sent you a release with the new logo attached (brand transition in today’s economy will be in “steps”). And thanks to your insightful ideas for next year’s program, I hereby nominate you as the 2011 Annual Meeting Chair.
~Kourtny
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DOWNTOWNDALLAS 2010 Annual Meeting Draws Record Crowd
Special announcements included a new brand for the organization and the 2010 Board of Directors
DOWNTOWNDALLAS, now known as Downtown Dallas, Inc., celebrated a record crowd of well over 1,000 attendees at its Annual Meeting and Luncheon today. The meeting’s topic, “The Emerging Creative Class” intrigued a wide-range of companies as moderator Wick Allison of D Magazine led a lively discussion between panelists Ken Luce, President, California and Southwest, Weber Shandwick; Lori Lee , Senior Vice President-Customer Care, AT&T and Jim Weber, Chief Marketing Officer, Comerica Bank.
The event began with an address from Board Chair Shelle Sills, Vice President and General Manager, Neiman Marcus Downtown, in which she rattled off a fast-facts list of 2009 successes for Downtown including the opening of more than 2,500 new residences, $.5 billion of new projects breaking ground and more than half-million people drawn Downtown to events during last year’s holiday season.
Holly Reed, Regional Vice President, AT&T chaired the event and followed Ms. Sills remarks with the announcement of a new brand for the organization, along with a refreshed dynamic mark. DOWNTOWNDALLAS will now be identified as Downtown Dallas, Inc., represented by the mark above (.jpg attached). “As Downtown continues to grow and evolve, so does our organization,” explained Reed at the event. “We are committed to remaining nimble, creative and – most importantly – innovative in both our programs and our messaging…this mark represents the vibrancy evidenced in Downtown Dallas today.
Weber Shandwick developed the new brand for Downtown Dallas, Inc. Said Ken Maxwell, Senior Vice President/Creative Director, Weber Shandwick, “Our goal was to marry the Downtown Dallas, Inc. mission with the brand, as well as provide something that is distinctive and reflective of today’s culture Downtown.”
Timothy Headington, developer of the Joule Hotel, was honored with the Chair’s award for his outstanding contribution to the Main Street District. In addition to the Joule, Headington has recently acquired several more properties in the District, with plans to develop Joule-complimentary projects. “Tim has contributed significantly to the transformation of the heart and soul of Downtown, and the good news for all of us is that he isn’t finished yet!” said Sills during the event.
“This year’s Annual Meeting was one of the largest the organization has ever hosted,” said John F. Crawford, President & CEO. “We think this is greatly due to the momentum Downtown today, and the growing corporate, resident and visitor community in the area.”
Downtown Dallas, Inc. also inducted its 2010 Board of Directors at the event. Those Members include: Vince Ackerson, President – Dallas Region, Texas Capital Bank; Doug Adams, President, Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Michael H. Anderson, General Counsel & Principal, Chavez Properties/Star Parking; Ted M. Benn, Partner, Thompson & Knight, LLP; Ronald C. Berg, President – Turtle Creek, PlainsCapital Bank; Brian Bergersen, President, Spectrum Properties, Ltd.; Dan Berner, Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP; Greg Biggs, Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, Inc.; Lucy Billingsley, Partner, Billingsley Company; Dan Blizzard, Senior Vice President, A.H. Belo Corporation; Bill Bogart, Managing Director, J.P.Morgan; Ben A. Brooks, Partner, Vinson & Elkins; Lyle Burgin, Partner, Brook Partners, Inc.; Kyle Burtnett, Vice President, Tenet Healthcare Corporation; David A. Campbell, CEO, Luminant; Robert Chereck, Dallas Regional President, Wells Fargo; Doug Chesnut, Senior Vice President of Investment, Gables Residential; Gregg Chilton, General Manager, Bank of America Plaza; John F. Crawford, President & CEO, DOWNTOWNDALLAS; Don Dowell, Vice President, Comerica Bank Tower; Sandra Doyle, Director – Public Affairs, Atmos Energy; Zenetta Drew, Executive Director, Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Kent Eastman, Executive Vice President, Capital One Bank; Clayton Elliott, Senior Vice President, Hines Investments Limited Partnership; Mark Fewin, Senior Managing Director, CB Richard Ellis; Larry Good, President, Good, Fulton & Farrell; Jim Greer, V.P. – Asset Management & Engineering, Oncor Electric Delivery; Chuck Gummer, President & CEO, Comerica Bank-Texas Market; Ted Hamilton, President, Hamilton Properties Corporation; Ray Hammer, General Manager, Sheraton Dallas Hotel; Blaine Hale, Lincoln Properties; Phyllis Hammond, V.P. of Public Relations, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau; Dan Harrington, Regional Executive – Commercial Real Estate, Bank of America; Matt Hildreth, President & CEO, Amegy Bank of Texas; Sarah Hinkley, Director, TRANSWESTERN; Angela Hunt, City Council Member, City of Dallas; Lee F. Jackson, Chancellor, University of North Texas System; Douglas H. Jones, Division President & CEO, Balfour Beatty Construction; Cris Jordan, Vice President, Republic Center; Kristi Kennedy, Tax Partner In Charge, RSM McGladrey; Linda Koop, City Council Member, City of Dallas; David Lind, Chairman of the Board, Corgan Associates, Inc.; Wendy Lopez, Vice President, URS Corporation; Brad Lowry, Partner, Haynes and Boone; Paul McCarthy, President, El Centro Community College; Pauline Medrano, City Council Member, City of Dallas; Les Melcher, Senior Vice President, Woodbine Development Corporation; Jerry Merriman, President, Merriman Associates Architects; Myron Mims, Attorney – Chair of TIF Board, Myron Mims, Esq.; Greg Morris, Executive Director, Ernst & Young LLP; Mark Nerenhausen, President, AT&T Performing Arts Center; Dennis Noebel, Director of Sales & Marketing, South West Region, Chicago Title Insurance Company; Sarah Payne, Senior Vice President & Co-Manager, Stream Realty Partners, L.P.; Holly Reed, Regional Vice President, AT&T; Ken Reese, Executive Vice President, Victory Park – Hillwood Capital; Randy Robason, Partner In Charge, TARAS, Grant Thornton LLP; Jon Ruff, Senior Vice President, Spire Realty Group, LP – Bryan Tower; Debbie Ryan, Partner, Patton Boggs, LLP; Kristi Sherrill Hoyl, V.P. – Government Affairs, Baylor Health Care System; Shelle Sills, Vice President, General Manager – Downtown Store, Neiman Marcus; Pam Stein, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig; John Stenger, Partner, Hunton & Williams, LLP; Kevin A. Sullivan, Shareholder, Winstead PC; Gary Thomas, President & Executive Director, DART; Michael Tregoning, Vice President & CFO, Headington Oil; Bryan Trubey, Principal & Senior Vice President, HKS, Inc.; Jim Truitt, Vice President, Forest City Residential, Inc.; Rob Walters, Executive V. P. & General Counsel, Energy Future Holdings; Ray Washburn, President & CEO, Charter Holdings; Kirby White, Director of Leasing, Crescent Real Estate Equities, Ltd.; Lee A. White, Partner, Jackson Walker L.L.P.; Jeff West, Jeff West Consulting; Paul Whitman, President – DFW, Jones Lang LaSalle. The Downtown Dallas, Inc. 2009 interactive annual report will be posted at www.downtowndallas.org by Friday, March 5 along with a full version of the interview with Tim Headington shown at the meeting.
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