All Aboard! The Burgh Train’s on the Move
After all the success of the NFL Draft, many Pittsburghers wanted to keep the momentum going. And it is.
For the past year, Pittsburgh Tomorrow has sought to coalesce a dozen disparate economic development groups, each with its own conference and small pitch competition, into one big conference with the mass and gravity to attract national investment and attention. And, to the credit of everyone involved, the event is happening this week. Led by Carnegie Mellon University, StartUP PGH has attracted hundreds of serious investors and thousands of others. It crescendos tomorrow (Friday) night Sept. 18 with a futuristic party that also serves as the launch of the first Pittsburgh Homecoming, hosted by Pittsburgh Tomorrow.
The party — “Pittsburgh, Tomorrow: A City on the Rise” — is an interactive doorway into what’s ahead and will be headlined by an extremely talented team of Carnegie Mellon media, musical and film artists (including one Oscar winner), Attack Theatre, and a DJ. Count on delicious food and drink, great people, and a great vibe. Register at pittsburghtomorrow.org/homecoming
As part of the Homecoming, all out-of-towners and would-be Boomerangers who register for the Sept. 18 party, also will receive a free ticket to two of the following events donated by our generous partners: Pirates/Royals game, Fallingwater, The Carnegie International, Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Warhol “Homecoming” exhibit, Phipps Annual Flower Show, Children’s Museum, Kamin Science Center, Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens, and Pittsburgh Zoo.
Finally, everyone is welcome to join our Pittsburgh Tomorrow Leadership Corps on Saturday morning, Sept. 19, as these high school leaders plant trees in Mt. Washington’s Emerald View Park, celebrating America’s 250th (thanks to our partners, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Tree Pittsburgh, and the Western Pa. Conservancy).
Later, following last year’s viral Times Square ads, “Your Dog Wants You to Move to Pittsburgh,” we’ll launch a major advertising initiative in key target cities — a clever, funny campaign that, for now, is a secret.
Finally, and most important, is our three-pronged Welcoming/Retention effort. There are just two ways to grow a region. One is having more births than deaths, but since we lead all 387 U.S. metro areas in having the largest number of deaths vs. births, that’s not open to us. The second is attracting and keeping more people than the number who leave.
So, the logic is simple: To grow, we must become the nation’s most welcoming region. Currently, however, we’re known as friendly, but not welcoming, because most of us have been here so long that our friend groups and social patterns long have been set.
Pittsburgh Tomorrow is leading the charge to change that. The first prong is our one-of-a-kind digital concierge — Lifeinpittsburgh.com. There’s nothing like it anywhere — a confidential, secure roadmap to becoming a Pittsburgher for those considering a move here and for newcomers. It’s also valuable for Pittsburghers with remarkable apps: Do the 412, the best array of cultural events and nightlife; 412 Jobs, the best jobs compendium around; Volunteer Pgh, the guide to volunteering opportunities; and PGH Portal, which demystifies municipal services across our labyrinthine county. And there’s more to come.
The second component, the Newcomer Ambassador Program, is our human concierge program launching this fall, helping newcomers to connect, feel at home and become Pittsburghers, via a buddy system.
The final prong is our Newcomer Welcome Center (not its final name). Aside from housing our offices, it will host a range of social programming with nonprofit partners for newcomers and Pittsburghers alike. It will feature an influencer studio and a vibrant, sophisticated “Third Space” where newcomers and Pittsburghers can connect in a “Speakeasy/Lounge.”
Since March, I’ve met with 22 of Allegheny County’s 27 state senators and representatives to gather support and funding for the Center. They understand Pittsburgh’s demographics and our need for growth. So far, we have commitments of $200,000 from the state, led by State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa. We’re seeking an additional $200,000 from the state and have a proposal submitted to the Allegheny County Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund for another $200,000. We’ve pledged a local match to whatever the government contributes.
If you’d like to come to the Sept. 18 Homecoming party, you have to register in advance at pittsburghtomorrow.org/homecoming.
If you’d like to volunteer in our Newcomer Ambassador program, please email volunteer@pittsburghtomorrow.org. And if you’d like to support our efforts financially, please email me personally at doug@pittsburghtomorrow.org. Finally, if you have a great name for our Newcomer Welcome Center, let me know.
The momentum is building, and it’s getting exciting. I hope you’ll get on board.
A journalistic innovator, Heuck has been writing about Pittsburgh for 40 years, as an investigative reporter and business editor at The Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette and as the founder of Pittsburgh Quarterly. His newspaper projects ranged from living on the streets disguised as a homeless man to penning the only comprehensive profile in the latter years of polio pioneer Dr. Jonas Salk to creating a statistical means of judging regional progress that has led to similar projects across the country. Heuck's work has won numerous national, state and local writing awards. His work has been cited in the landmark media law case "Food Lion vs. ABC news." He is also the founder and CEO of Pittsburgh Tomorrow, a nonprofit whose mission is to reverse population decline by reinvigorating the region's civic spirit and economy.
