Tallahassee Is One of One. Its Future Will Take All of Us.

I love Tallahassee. This is where my wife Jessica and I are raising our family, where I have helped build businesses, where I have made lifelong friendships and where I have experienced what is special about a community where people still know each other, help each other and show up for each other. And because I love this community, I believe we should be willing to have an honest conversation about where we are and where we want to go.

Tallahassee is at an interesting point in its history. We have people who love this community exactly as it is and understandably worry about what growth might change. We have others who want more economic opportunity and wonder why we are not growing faster. Families are concerned about affordability. Business owners are trying to find employees and expand. Young professionals are deciding whether the careers they want exist here. And I regularly hear people say that Tallahassee needs a clearer vision for its future.

I truly believe there is room for all of those voices in the same conversation.

That is why I want more people to participate in TLH Vision and share what they want for Tallahassee and the Capital Region. Your perspective belongs in this conversation.

As a business owner, I want someone with a promising idea to believe they can turn that idea into a company and grow it here. As someone who tries to help our community, I want more of the talented people graduating from our colleges and universities to see Tallahassee as a place where they can build careers, buy homes, raise families and eventually become the leaders who take this community even further.

What progress should mean for Tallahassee

For that to happen, we need economic growth.

In Tallahassee, “growth” can sometimes feel like a four-letter word. For some people, it immediately brings to mind more traffic, more development, pressure on housing and infrastructure, or changes to the character of places they love. Those are legitimate concerns, and a community serious about its future should address them. We should be clear about the outcomes we want from growth. We want more people to build a career here, earn a good living, start a business, buy a home and raise a family. We want the infrastructure, schools, healthcare, public safety and quality of life that allow a community to thrive. Achieving those things will require our economy to grow, and it will require us to manage that growth thoughtfully. We can protect the character and natural beauty that make Tallahassee special while creating more opportunity for the people who call it home. There will be legitimate questions and tradeoffs along the way, and we should work through them together.

Standing still and accepting the status quo also have significant consequences.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest population estimates, Leon County grew from about 292,000 residents in 2020 to about 299,000 in 2025, an increase of approximately 2.3%. During that same period, Florida's population grew 8.9%, nearly four times Leon County's rate. Population growth alone is certainly not the measure of a successful community, but a gap that large should cause us to ask some serious questions about economic opportunity, competitiveness and what we want the next decade to look like.

The better questions are: Are we creating more higher-paying jobs? Are existing businesses growing? Are entrepreneurs starting companies here? Can young families afford to build their lives here? Are we attracting private investment? Are we connecting our universities and research institutions to companies, entrepreneurs and investors? Those are the measures of progress that matter.

We should ask whether our roads and infrastructure can support it, whether we are building enough housing, whether our airport is connecting us to the places our businesses need to reach, and whether our schools and public safety systems are prepared. We should also ask how we preserve the canopy roads, lakes, green spaces and natural character that make this region so special. These do not have to be incompatible. The challenge before us is finding the right balance and making good decisions project by project. The balance matters. So does forward momentum.

We have extraordinary assets. What will we do with them?

Sometimes I think we are so accustomed to the assets around us that we forget how extraordinary they are. We are home to Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee State College.

People often point to North Carolina’s Research Triangle as an example of what a region can build around its educational institutions. We have a powerful triangle of our own in these three institutions, each bringing distinct strengths to our community. Imagine what we could accomplish by connecting their research, talent and workforce training more deliberately with local employers and entrepreneurs.

These nationally ranked institutions prepare thousands of graduates each year for careers across our economy. Think about the amount of talent, energy and possibility passing through this community every year.

We are the capital of Florida, a state with an approximately $1.8 trillion economy that the Florida Chamber Foundation ranked in 2026 as the 14th largest in the world if Florida were measured alongside national economies. Florida has moved past Australia and Mexico. Let that sink in. How can our region turn that economic strength into more opportunity here at home?

We have the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world, attracting researchers from across the globe. FSU’s Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) is advancing research in electrical power, grid resilience and the growing energy needs of data centers. Its expertise also supports national security. In 2026, CAPS secured an $88 million U.S. Navy contract to advance shipboard power and energy systems. The center has worked with global companies including Google, Meta and General Electric, connecting expertise developed here with challenges that matter around the world.

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering gives our region a shared foundation for engineering research and talent. FAMU brings strengths in pharmacy, public health and agriculture that connect directly to our region’s needs and opportunities. Tallahassee State College helps connect education to employment through workforce training, AI workshops, and partnerships with local employers.

Innovation Park brings research facilities, entrepreneurs and technology companies together. Danfoss Turbocor, which opened a new 145,000-square-foot manufacturing facility here in 2024, demonstrates the role advanced manufacturing already plays in our regional economy. Its cooling technology helps data centers operate more efficiently and reduce energy consumption. Alongside the power systems expertise at CAPS, these capabilities position Tallahassee to help shape more efficient and resilient digital infrastructure. Some of the knowledge needed to address these global challenges is being developed right here in our community.

We are watching healthcare, medical education and research expand through FSU Health and our region’s healthcare institutions. Apalachee Regional Park hosted the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, putting Tallahassee on an international stage. We sit on I-10 with access to major markets throughout the Southeast, and investments at Tallahassee International Airport are creating opportunities to strengthen our connections beyond the region. These assets give us something substantial to build on. The question is how we connect them to more local businesses, higher-paying jobs and opportunities for the people who live here.

And beyond all of those assets, we have something much harder to quantify. We have people who care deeply about this community and about one another. At times, politics, division and disagreement can make that easy to forget, and we can do better. We can listen more, assume better intentions, find more common ground and remember that we are all invested in the future of the same place. There is tremendous value in that, and I believe it is one of Tallahassee’s greatest strengths. We should be proud of what makes us different, what gives us a competitive advantage and what makes Tallahassee one of one. Frankly, we need to get some of our swagger back.

The private sector has work to do

I believe deeply in private-sector leadership, and I will continue doing my part. I will keep building, making introductions and telling Tallahassee’s story. I will keep working to connect businesses with resources and create stronger relationships between our universities, healthcare institutions, researchers, entrepreneurs and employers. I will keep asking “What if?” and trying to turn some of those questions into something tangible. I also believe those of us in the private sector have a responsibility to help turn our community’s ambitions into action. That means committing our own time and resources and following through.

When we ask our community to embrace opportunity, we should be willing to invest in it ourselves. We should bring practical proposals to our public partners, work across organizational boundaries and take responsibility for moving good ideas forward. We should hold ourselves to the same standard of results and accountability that we ask of government.

But we need more people in the arena.

Vote. Stay involved after the election.

One way to get involved is to vote. With an election approaching, we each have an opportunity to help shape what comes next. Learn about the people asking to represent you. Talk to candidates when you can, understand their priorities and decide whose approach best reflects the future you want for this community.

Ask how they see the relationship between government and the private sector, and how they would help businesses invest, grow and create higher-wage jobs. Ask about taxes and fees, what taxpayers should expect in return, and how they would make government more efficient and accountable. Ask what results they would measure and how residents would know whether those results were being achieved.

Ask about economic development, transportation, education, housing, affordability and public safety. Ask how they would preserve our region’s natural character while preparing it for the future. When candidates propose new programs, projects or spending, ask how they would pay for them, what problem they are solving and how success would be measured.

Different people will reach different conclusions, and that is part of democracy. We can disagree about individual candidates, projects and policies while still expecting thoughtful leadership, responsible stewardship of public dollars and a serious conversation about how Tallahassee creates more opportunity. And when the election is over, the work cannot simply shift back to government. Government cannot build a thriving economy by itself. The private sector, our universities, nonprofits, neighborhoods and individual citizens all have a role in what happens next. That takes all of us.

Help shape our community’s future

That is also why I believe we need a shared vision for Tallahassee and the Capital Region.

People sometimes say that Tallahassee does not have a vision. Perhaps we can start by bringing our ideas together and giving more people a chance to shape what comes next.

That is the idea behind TLH Vision.

The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce helped build TLH Vision because bringing people together around our region’s future is part of its work. My hope is that people throughout this community will shape what it becomes. You do not need to be a Chamber member, own a business or agree with me about growth to participate. I especially want to hear from people with concerns about where Tallahassee is headed.

I want to hear from the professor and the tradesperson, the student and the CEO, the lifelong resident and the person who arrived six months ago. I want to hear from the entrepreneur trying to raise their first dollar and the executive employing hundreds of people. I want to hear from the person excited about growth and from the person worried about what growth could mean for their neighborhood. Especially that person.

A real community vision should help us understand where we agree, where we disagree and where there may be common ground. I want these contributions to help us identify shared priorities and have better conversations about what comes next. Imagine what could happen if we got this right.

What happens after you share your vision?

In January 2027, we plan to share the findings from TLH Vision with the community, highlighting the ideas, concerns and priorities that participants have contributed. Our goal is to work with community partners across the region to identify where we can take action together and begin turning those priorities into meaningful progress. Some ideas will take time, resources and additional conversations. Others may present opportunities to get started sooner. Your participation will help us understand where to focus and who wants to help move that work forward.

I care deeply about this community and intend to keep showing up for it. If you have an idea or a concern, need help making a connection, or simply want someone to listen, call or text me at 1-448-488-4787. I may not have every answer, but you can count on me to listen, help where I can and keep working for the community we all call home.

This is our time.

So I hope you will vote. I hope you will get involved. Mentor someone. Hire someone. Support a local business. Share an idea. Challenge an idea. Bring someone into the conversation who has been left out of it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support. And most importantly, be there for each other.

And I hope you will participate in TLH Vision (https://tlhvision.com/) and help answer a question that belongs to every one of us:

What do we want this community to become?

Its future belongs to all of us.