Greetings,
For the past twelve years, Saint Paulites and their friends have gathered to celebrate the ongoing renaissance of Minnesota's capital city. The Millard Fillmore Dinner, which has indeed become an annual tradition in Saint Paul, had very humble beginnings. Paul Verret, then of The Saint Paul Foundation, and Dick Broeker, who was serving as president of the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation, had an idea:
Let's bring the community together to
celebrate progress and look to the future.
With one week to go until the Thirteenth Annual Millard Fillmore Dinner, it's clear that an idea shared between two friends has become a wonderful and valuable event for our city. It is a civic gathering like no other. A rite of spring, perhaps.
One of our favorite river rats, Don Shelby, will be with us again this year. He has just returned from the Artic Circle with explorer Will Steger, witnessing first hand the effects global warming. He will share his observations about the "river ethic" he sees emerging in Saint Paul.
The McKnight Foundation's new president, Kate Wolford, joins us for the first time. She will help us understand our work in the context of efforts to preserve, protect, and enhance the entire Mississippi River, headwaters to gulf.
A year ago we introduced the concept of the National Great River Park. This framework for thinking about the next decade of river rebirth is guided by three simple principles: More natural, more urban, and more connected. Toni Carter, Ramsey County Commissioner and Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation board member, will tell us how we're doing on the National Great River Park with a progress report covering the past year.
A featured guest of the Fillmore Dinner every year is Saint Paul's mayor. We are looking forward to Mayor Chris Coleman's inspiring and visionary thoughts - a Forecast for Saint Paul's future.
The founders of this annual "town dinner" understood that city building can be hard work. It takes time, sustained effort and the contributions of many. They knew there would be setbacks and disappointments from time to time. They intuitively understood that not every decision would be free of controversy. And they knew that civic disagreement, while sometimes painful, is a necessary and valuable part of the process.
The idea of breaking bread together in an environment of celebration and anticipation would be a good thing, they thought. And given the response to the Fillmore Dinner each year, it seems that they were right.
I hope you can join us on May 10th as we celebrate progress and look to Saint Paul's bright future.
