NLC builds partnerships with corporations, White House.(National League of Cities)(Executive Office of the President. Chief of S

Last month, I had the honor of hosting the NLC Board of Directors in Denver and quickly saw a common thread that wove the meeting together--partnerships. I kicked off the meeting highlighting the regional cooperation and local government partnership that makes the Denver Metro area so successful and a great place to live. As the day progressed, local, national and public-private partnership peppered our conversations and wove a common thread through our work.

Throughout the two-and-a-half days together, the economy and its impact on communities across the country also was a recurring theme that fueled conversation and Board decisions. Each of the agenda items reminded us either directly or indirectly of the challenging economic times we face as a nation, collectively, and individually in the communities each Board member represents. We each had our own stories of cutting, closing, tightening, decreasing and freezing, but from our individual adversity came a renewed sense of purpose, open dialogue and, for me, a focus on the value of partnerships--or building bridges, as I like to say--during these difficult times.

Two conversations, in particular, stood out for me--conversations that happened to begin and end our day together. First, I was struck by the Board's conversation with Adolfo Carrion, the new director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs. Our dialogue had a strong focus on partnerships--both between the federal and local governments and locally among cities and towns with shared regional issues. The creation of this office, alone, signaled a fresh approach and a commitment to shared solutions and its early actions stand to reinforce that commitment as well.

Over the next couple of months, the Office of Urban Affairs will be hosting a listening tour, focused on highlighting city solutions and innovations. These public conversations will engage communities around the issues of sustainability, community and neighborhood revitalization, and the alignment of transportation and land use systems. I know that through these conversations a wide range of solutions will be revealed that will highlight many strong partnerships--partnerships that are similar to ones we all have in our communities. The town hall meetings certainly will reinforce Carrion's own words that "cities are the solution, not the problem."

The second conversation served as the bookend to our morning conversation with Carrion and reinforced the value of the NLC Corporate Partners to the organization and to cities and towns across the country. The Board was joined by representatives from NLC's Capstone Corporate Partners--four organizations that have made substantial contributions of time, resources and expertise to NLC--for a dialogue that, in my mind, truly represented the meaning of partnership.

Executives from ICMARC, the International Council of Shopping Centers, The Home Depot Foundation and Wells Fargo each shared their industries' perspective on the current economic crisis and shared resources and initiatives their organizations have developed to help cities.

From recommendations on how cities can reinforce the importance of retirement saving with their employees, even in these difficult economic times, to articles, research and tools to help cities weather the economic downturn and help retailers remain part of their community; from creative programs to help cities access needed building materials to initiatives to keep people in their home, NLC's Capstone Partners understand the challenges cities are facing and are bringing creative solutions to the table.

I've had a number of opportunities to work directly with NLC's Corporate Partners and I have watched the Corporate Partners Program grow over the last six years from a handful of dedicated companies willing to take a risk with an untested corporate program to more than 35 companies, and growing.

Each of the partners is committed to NLC's mission and to the success of cities and towns across the country. The corporate executives from each organization are building bridges, sharing their expertise and making a meaningful difference nationally and locally.

There could not have been a more appropriate way for us to end our day. The Capstone Partners had spent the day learning side-by-side with the Board of Directors and ended the day highlighting the value of the NLC Corporate Partners Program and modeling exactly what it means to be a partner.

We are all facing difficult choices during these tough economic times. It is good to know that NLC's partners stand side-by-side with us and cities across the country and that there is a new partner for America's cities and towns in the White House.

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