The Difference a Year Can Make

It was just 12-months ago that I joined GBC as its first new leader in more than two decades.??

While GBC’s merger with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore garnered tremendous support, it also created great uncertainty on the direction of the combined organization.?

To longtime supporters and partners, I’m grateful for your patience and collaboration in this transitional year.? As a special end of year gift, you can now access our annual membership and partnership directory. We’ve rebuilt the organization both inside and out.? We released our multi-year agenda with 12-targeted initiatives and delivered a few major milestones along the way.??

There’s so much the GBC can and will do to position our region to thrive. ? Regional economic and civic organizations in America have a refined expectation to provide leadership, demonstrate vision, and set tables for collaboration to drive the impact that metropolitan areas—the backbone of America’s economy and opportunity—need to thrive.?

As partners, we ask that you help us build a GBC that not only maximizes the immediate windows of opportunity for the Baltimore Region, but provides proactive, ambitious, and sustained leadership over the next decade and beyond.??

2023 was a foundational year Here’s what you can expect in 2024:

• Regional Economic Leadership. We’ll unveil our new annual investment scorecard, which will measure regional economic activity and release the 10-year economic opportunity plan, produced with our partner TIP Strategies.
• As part of the Tech Hub designation, we’re establishing the regional innovation office to support funding opportunities and maximize the benefits granted by the competitive selection. This includes hosting the first-ever regional business investment summit,? an official event of the US Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA.
• A Champion for a World-Class Transit System and Infrastructure Investment. Through our partnership with the Greater Washington Partnership, we’ll use the Baltimore's Transit Future campaign as our voice for critical transportation investments and a better connected region. The GBC will also launch our steering committee committed to advancing investments that modernize our region’s aging infrastructure.?

• Collective Impact.?Through our engagement in 2023, we identified a number of areas where the private sector and our non-profit partners committed to make a difference.? In 2024, we’ll ask for your time, talent, and investments as we continue tackling some of our greatest challenges.

As a newcomer to the region, your warm embrace has fueled my commitment to this community and the difference we can make together.??

Sincerely,

Mark Anthony Thomas

President & CEO

Greater Baltimore Committee