2022 InterCity Leadership Visit - Charlotte

Our community is stronger when we learn from one another and our peers across the country. Join the Minneapolis Regional and Saint Paul Area Chambers for the 2022 InterCity Leadership Visit in October 2022 to Charlotte, NC!

Our MSP region has learned many things throughout the 20 years of annual study visits to other communities to look at their best practices around civic issues. There are several successful initiatives here in MSP that were created from our trips: The Itasca Project, MN Compass, and Greater MSP are just a few initiatives that resulted from the cross-sector collaborative discussions on InterCity Leadership Visits (ICLVs).

Why Charlotte? 
The Queen City lives up to its tagline, “Charlotte’s Got a Lot,” thanks in part to its mix of urban amenities outdoor connections. The latest addition to GreaterMSP’s Peer Cities, Charlotte is especially interesting in terms of its growth in both business and new residents, and fights above its weight in its development of new industries. Charlotte is the second largest banking capital in the U.S., second only to New York City. Today, the region also is one of the fastest growing energy hubs in the country. Six Fortune 500 companies are headquartered there. Other companies like Wells Fargo, Family Dollar, Lowes, and Bank of America have significant presence there as well. 

The population of Charlotte metropolitan area is 2.5million; Mecklenburg County is now the 40th largest county in the nation, and most populous county in the state. It has experienced 16.6% population growth since 2010.  Almost 11,000 new immigrants moved to the county in 2017 alone, 2/3 of them to Charlotte.

Some recently earned national recognition:
#1 - Best State for Business - Forbes Magazine (2020)
#1 - Best State to Start a Business - FitSmallBusiness.com (2017)
#1 - Cheapest City to Base Your Tech Startup - Bloomberg Technology 
#1 - Top Tech Momentum Market - CBRE Group 
#1 - State with Fastest Growing Large Economy - Bureau of Economic Analysis 
#1 - Millennial Moving Destination City - Smart Asset
 

TRIP DETAILS
DATES:  Sunday, October 2 – Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Invitation 
This trip usually sells out quickly, so reserve your spot today! Click here to be directed to the St. Paul Area Chamber registration page, as they are managing registration.

Price
$3,200 per person includes air and ground transportation, hotel and meals, hospitality suite - everything except incidentals at the hotel and any food/beverage not on the agenda. We will leave Sunday morning and return Tuesday evening. Full payment must be confirmed and received by August 19, 2022, to participate in this experience.

Registration
Click here to be directed to the registration page. The information we collect is required for your participation in the InterCity Leadership Visit to Charlotte. Your full name as it appears on your ID is required for airline travel. Your credit card information is for hotel incidentals and will not be charged unless you purchase something at the hotel. You can select how to pay the trip fee: we can bill you later to pay by check or ACH transfer, or you can pay with a debit/credit card but please note there is a 3.55% service fee. Please fully complete all fields.

Cancellations
Any cancellation received before Friday, August 19, will result in a full refund minus a $300 administrative fee and any costs associated with room and/or airline charges at that time. If we cannot fill your seat, you may be responsible for the full cost. No refunds will be given after Friday, August 19.

Flight details
We have booked a block of tickets through Delta so that we can all fly together. Because this is a peer-to-peer program, we encourage people to participate fully in the group itinerary. The experience truly begins at airport check-in and concludes at baggage claim in Minneapolis. We can allow up to 10 people to make their own air arrangements, and this will happen on a first-come, first-served basis; you may request changes to your itinerary between July 15 and August 19 by emailing Wendy Helgeson (details below). You will be responsible for getting yourself to and from the host city airport and hotel. We will do our best to accommodate change requests, but they are not guaranteed and may require an additional charge. 

Contacts
If you have questions, please contact Wendy Helgeson, ICLV Director, at 612-501-0377 or wendy@civic-source.com.