On August 18th, 2010, Partners President Robert McNulty and Partners Trustee and former Florida Secretary of State and Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood hosted a workshop for over 150 attendees of the annual Florida League of Cities conference in Hollywood, Florida. Entitled “Culture Builds Community,” the 3-hour session explored how in these hard times for local governments and public finance, communities can mobilize a team of new players to support cultural and heritage resources as key infrastructure for their citizens, quality of life, and their ability to attract new investment.

Workshop participants learned how to:

• Create partnerships between unlikely collaborators to advance economic and social agendas using cultural resources
• Use existing resources at low to no cost to solve community-wide problems
• Find creative funding solutions to keep arts and cultural programs alive
• Celebrate and connect the diverse cultures within their communities

During the interactive session, McNulty and Hood shared innovative best practices from around the nation as attendees shared their own stories and challenges from their hometowns. As a take-home resource, conference participants received a comprehensive workbook with guidance for applying strategies covered during the session.

Due to the success of the August session, the Florida League of Cities has commissioned McNulty and Hood to present five regional workshops throughout Florida over the course of eight months in 2011. Locations for the workshops include Fort Walton Beach, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale. Through this hands-on and highly engaging program, Florida communities of all sizes will explore how cultural assets can be put to work as a restructuring, economic and social building-block of their quality of life and livability.