Huntsville honored as ‘Secret Sauce Community’ at Heartland Summit
What’s Huntsville’s “secret sauce?”
According to Mayor Tommy Battle, it’s building relationships across all levels of government and industry.
And that is what helped the Rocket City earn recognition as a Secret Sauce Community, according to Heartland Forward. The Bentonville, Ark.-based think-and-do tank honored three cities — Huntsville; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Oklahoma City — as Secret Sauce Communities.
“It’s all about collaboration, and collaboration is just about making new friends,” Battle said. “We work with everybody.”
The recognition came during the recent Heartland Summit which showcased each city’s distinct and innovative approaches to economic growth, community development and cultural vitality.
“I was honored to participate in the Heartland Summit and to represent Huntsville,” said Chip Cherry, president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. “The Rocket City is in excellent company to be featured with Grand Rapids and Oklahoma City, and this gives us a great opportunity to learn from one another as we continuously work to make improvements.”
The three cities have the right ingredients to thrive, the organization said.
“Heartland Summit is about bringing people together around the momentum we’re seeing across the heartland and turning that into action,” said Krista Cupp, executive director of the Heartland Summit and executive vice president of partnerships and events at Heartland Forward. “We selected Huntsville, Grand Rapids and Oklahoma City as this year’s Secret Sauce cities because each has found its own formula for creating opportunity and building a more competitive economy while staying rooted in the people and culture that make it unique momentum.”
The Rocket City anchors its economy in aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing and ranks among the fastest-growing metros in the country. The city’s pipeline is fed by strong engineering programs and steady in-migration, giving it one of the highest concentrations of engineering per capita nationally.
“Chip Cherry, David Van Andel and Mayor David Holt shared what’s working in their communities and what others across the heartland can learn from it,” Cupp said. “That’s the bigger story of the heartland right now. This region isn’t waiting for America’s economic future to happen. We’re building it.”
Heartland Forward is a non-profit, policy think-and-do tank that turns ideas into action for states and local communities. Its mission is to accelerate economic growth, change the narrative about the middle of the country and generate $500 million of economic impact to the heartland by 2030. This is accomplished through applied research, community-driven programs, policy and convenings — focusing on regional competitiveness, talent pipeline and health and wellness.
The Heartland Summit was co-founded by Olivia and Tom Walton and Steuart Walton in 2018 to kick-start economic growth and help change the narrative about the middle of the country. The Summit is a forum for conversation about shared challenges, creating positive action and strengthening connections.
