After more than 1,000 people heard brutal facts Thursday night about Rockford's poverty, crime and joblessness, Carla Towns couldn't hand out blue rubber bracelets fast enough to attendees with these words stamped on them: Transform Rockford."It's a great plan for all of us to come together to make this happen," said Towns, 26, a local bank employee and a member of Rockford Hip Hop Congress.She was referring to the Transform Rockford effort spearheaded by a group of businessmen and civic officials to turn Rockford from what Forbes calls a miserable city into an enviable one. Thursday's meeting at the Coronado Performing Arts Center was the group's first public meeting aimed at engaging the public.Tom Gendron, chairman and CEO of Woodward Inc. who is leading the effort, said he is "shocked by the level of dysfunctional behavior in the community. There is a negative vibe in the community, and I can feel it."Gendron, who lives in Colorado where Woodward is based, has dozens of family members who live in the area. And Woodward is building a $300 million factory in Loves Park to make airplane parts. He and a handful of local businessmen have pledged more than $3 million to get the Transform Rockford effort going.
Here are the slides from the presentation: http://transformrockford.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/TRES11.14.13_Final.pdf
Transform Rockford’s website: http://transformrockford.org/
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