HUNDREDS OF ROCKFORD'S BEST BUSINESS MINDS SHARED THE SAME ROOM FOR TONIGHT'S DINNER TAKE HANSON CG "In this type of climate to see 700 people come out for something like this is miraculous." STILL MANY IN THE ROOM ARE FED UP WITH THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SYSTEM. BUT TONIGHT'S KEY NOTE SPEAKER REMAINS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ROCKFORD'S ECONOMIC PROSPECTS. "What a remarkable first impression Rockford has given me." MARYLAND BASED CONSULTANT PAUL BROPHY IS ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST RESPECTED VOICES ON URBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMEN. ESPECIALLY IN OLDER INDUSTRIAL CITIES. AND THAT VOICE RESONATED WITH ROCKFORD LEADERS TONIGHT. TAKE FADDEN CG "While he was speaking to a small group of us earlier today. All of us were nodding are heads because we're already beginning to work in some of these areas." BROPHY BELIEVES THE ROAD TO ECONOMIC GROWTH ARE KEYED BY THREE FACTORS. THE FIRST IS KNOWING EACH CITIES ECONOMIC STRENGTH. TAKE BROPHY CG "And obviously in Rockford you have a very strong manufacturing sector and a very strong Aerospace sector. So that would be the clusters here." THE SECOND KEY IS TO CONNECT JOB GROWTH WITH GOOD JOB TRAINING AND ADVANCEMENT. AND THIRDLY.. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO.. IN BROPHY'S WORDS.. BUILD A QUALITY OF SPACE. "Lots of workers in this country now choose where they want to live and then find a job and they choose where they want to live based on quaility of life." BROPHY SAYS A TURN OUT OF 700 TO AN EVENT LIKE THIS IS QUITE SIGNIFICANT AND SHOWS A COMMUNITY THAT CARES. "It's very important in places to achieve consensus, to go after things that are bold, to work from the strengths that you have. My sense is there's a mood here in Rockford that's along those lines."