Mayor Graham Richard will be the featured speaker at the Goshen College Business Luncheon from 12:55-1:30 p.m. Thursday, February 23 at Goshen College'€™s Fellowship Hall of College Mennonite Church.

Mayor Richard'€™s speech is titled “Fort Wayne: The Power of High Performance Partnerships.” Mayor Richard will describe how the City is using new business and education partnerships to be globally competitive. Mayor Richard will explain how fiber optic broadband services for 100,000 small businesses, households and schools will help retain and gain jobs. Mayor Richard will also discuss how Fort Wayne uses high performance partnerships with Lean Six Sigma to improve city services and save taxpayers over $10 million.

Fort Wayne is the hub of Northeast Indiana'€™s regional economy,” said Mayor Richard. “We need to place an emphasis on regional marketing as a way to increase private investment to attract new jobs and businesses. Regional partnerships with surrounding counties can help lead us toward economic growth and development.”

Mayor Richard will also discuss the Regional Public Safety Academy planned for Southtown Centre. Officials plan to break ground in June with the facility opening in November 2007. The 125,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility would provide police, fire, emergency medical services, and homeland security training and education for professionals and students from Northeast Indiana and across the Midwest. The academy has also been designated as the first of 10 regional fire training centers in Indiana.