Arc cancels 2020 link trip to chicago - saportareport

By Maria Saporta The Atlanta Regional Commission has canceled its 2020 LINK trip to Chicago because of coronavirus-related health concerns. The LINK trips have been an annual opportunity for

more than 100 metro Atlanta leaders spend three days in a major North American city to learn how other communities are addressing urban issues, such as transportation, development, regional

cooperation, equity, the arts and education. Kerry Armstrong, who chairs ARC’s board, sent an email Wednesday to “regional parthers” who had been invited and registered to go on the 2020

LINK trip to the Chicago region. Originally, the LINK trip had been scheduled for May 6 to May 9. But Armstrong sent out an email on March 20 saying the trip had been rescheduled for Aug. 19

to Aug. 22. “Since that time, it has become clear to us that the public health concern and level of risk involved in such a trip are simply too great, even in August,” Armstrong wrote in

the email. “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for everyone’s health, we will be canceling this year’s LINK trip. This is a difficult decision, as LINK always provides us with

valuable lessons from other regions and chances to connect with colleagues.” Armstrong went on to say that ARC will plan a LINK trip to the Chicago region in 2021– “most likely with an

amended format.” This is the first year since 1997 that there won’t be a LINK trip. LINK, which stands for Leadership, Innovation, Network, Knowledge, was launched to foster greater regional

cooperation while having local leaders learn about best practices in other communities. LINK already has been to Chicago once. That was in 2002 right after the election of Atlanta Mayor

Shirley Franklin, who was a regular attendee on the LINK trips. In Chicago, the delegation learned how a strong urban mayor could a regional leader by building relationships with the other

mayors in the region. When Franklin returned from Chicago, she started the Metro Atlanta Mayor’s Association (MAMA), to foster closer ties with the other mayors in the region. That is only

one example of how the LINK trips have made an impact on the Atlanta region. _Here is a list of all the LINK trips plus the 20-year history (from 1997 to 2016) of the regional initiative. To

read that history, click here: Link_20th_Anniversary_Book_ LIST OF ATLANTA’S LINK TRIPS: 1997: Denver 1998: Seattle 1999: Dallas 2000: Cleveland 2001: San Diego 2002: Chicago 2003: San

Francisco 2004: Boston 2005: Portland, Oregon 2006: Miami 2007: Vancouver 2008: Denver 2009: Minneapolis-St. Paul 2010: Phoenix 2011: Seattle 2012: Washington, D.C. 2013: Houston 2014:

Philadelphia 2015: Toronto 2016: Dallas 2017: Detroit 2018: San Diego 2019: Pittsburgh _RELATED POSTS_