Members of the Ogden City Council, Ogden Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Mayor’s office came together this past Tuesday to discuss their visions for Ogden City. The session’s purpose was to discuss opportunities for economic growth, define Ogden’s identity and begin to craft a mission statement for the city of Ogden.
One of the most significant economic opportunities that Ogden has the potential to tap into is the F-35 Program. A presentation during the session by Tom Christopulos, Ogden’s director of Community and Economic Development, showed that in order to accommodate the incoming program, Hill Air Force Base has undergone massive expansion in size and technology.
In order to meet labor force needs created by this program, efforts will be made to increase the number of Ogden students in STEM fields. Additionally, the upgrading of academic accreditation in STEM majors will become a priority. Ogden’s Chief Administrative Officer, Mark Johnson, stated that Weber State and the Air Force are working together to create degree and career opportunities to satisfy the demand for labor.
According to Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell, “The presentation about the F-35 showed that Weber State and higher education is going to be the next economic engine for the next hundred years.” Mayor Caldwell also addressed Weber State students specifically, saying they need to know that there is a tremendous amount of opportunity.
The meeting also touched on the role of Weber State in visions of Ogden’s future. Sara Toliver, President and CEO of the Ogden Convention and Visitors Bureau, stated the importance of the college town initiative,“There are not enough words to describe how important (the college town initiative) is. I think it’s so long overdue, and it’s so refreshing to see so much energy and movement put into it, both on the part of Weber State’s students, faculty, administration and the city.”
As a reference to the disconnected past between the city and university, Mayor Caldwell recalled his time as a Wildcat.
“When I came to Weber, I graduated and I sent my resume everywhere. I did not look at home and at Ogden as an economically diverse place . . . and that’s changing dramatically. People need to be looking at this and the opportunities that are around here because they are extremely unique,” Caldwell said.
Mayor Caldwell commented on ways Weber State students can get on board with Ogden’s direction.
“They can be proud, unapologetic in where they live and what they are able to have access to here,” he said.
Mayor Caldwell listed Historic 25th Street, the Junction and outdoor recreation as some of the more significant attributes that Ogden has to offer its residents.
The last part of the meeting was dedicated to a brainstorming session to create a mission statement for Ogden. Words such as “unique,” “gritty,” “heritage” and “motivated” were thrown into the mix with the end goal being a cocktail of words that would perfectly sum up what Ogden is all about.
A long list of words was created, and Shane Osguthorpe, Ogden-Weber Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s director of marketing, brought additional insight to the discussion regarding the scope and method of branding that should be employed in Ogden’s mission statement.
“When you flip back through some of these words, you can say ‘em about any town in the world. Give me something unique to sell about Ogden. You might not be a hardcore skier, but say it is the most wicked place for hardcore skiers in the world. Rather than trying to appease 319 million Americans, give me something that’s unique and I can sell it to the right audience and they will come here,” Osguthorpe said.
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