00:00Hi, my name is Craig Slosher, and I'm honored to be a 2025 Icon of Change International
00:07Award recipient.
00:09Before I continue, I want to take a moment and I want to thank both Justin and Martin
00:13for their support throughout the process.
00:16This year's core themes are peace and trust.
00:19Peace and trust closely relates to two core areas that over the past decade I've had
00:24the privilege to include in my professional career, and that's hope and unity.
00:29Hope is the belief that there's a better tomorrow, and unity is the belief that we can achieve
00:34that together.
00:35Both peace and trust are based on mutual respect, as are hope and unity.
00:41These core concepts drive the positive change in our community that we all strive as leaders
00:45to make each and every day.
00:48About eight years of my career, I spent time at the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of
00:53Commerce as their vice president.
00:54During that time, I got a chance to do so many amazing things and work with so many fantastic
00:58people.
00:59One thing that always stands out to me is how we handle the challenge of COVID-19 and our
01:03ability to quickly pivot and put together programs such as Open for Business.
01:08Open for Business was a program that inspired exactly that, hope and unity during a time
01:12where we weren't really sure what was going to go on, but we were going to figure out how
01:15to get through it together.
01:17Every day, the daily update started your day with a positive quote, a tradition which continues
01:22to this day.
01:23News, resources, anything you needed to let you know that there was stuff there to help
01:28you was there.
01:29But it was the ability of all of us to work together every day through a newsletter, through
01:33webinars, through programs, through applying for grants and sharing best practices, talking
01:38with other stakeholders, both private and public.
01:41And the fact that we were going to figure this out and we were going to come at it better
01:44and stronger.
01:45And that's exactly what we did.
01:47After that, I had the opportunity to go back to my hometown community and take on the role
01:51as president and CEO of the Morris County Economic Development Alliance and Tourism Bureau.
01:56Seventy-five days into my term, we acquired the Tourism Bureau coming out of a pandemic.
02:03It was a rapid change and a rapid shift, which was one of the most exciting things I got to
02:08do, but also quite stressful.
02:11It was through the ability to work together with amazing partners and teams and board members
02:15that we took a very small organization and brought in well over a million dollars within
02:19two years, achieving new heights and building an ecosystem that I was so proud to do that
02:25brought economic development, community development, tourism, workforce development, and a myriad
02:31of other government and private sources together to make a real meaningful impact.
02:36It was the alliance and the unity and the hope that it brought together, where creating opportunity
02:41together was our mission every day, was so exciting and so rewarding for me.
02:46But nothing stands out to me more over the past decade than First Night, Morris County, and
02:50FN365, which is our year-round community impact program.
02:54First Night, a long-standing New Year's Eve event in Marstown, New Jersey, is the largest
03:00in the Mid-Atlantic, bringing thousands each year.
03:03But what makes First Night so special is how we do it.
03:06It's about bringing a community together year-round to bring us together on New Year's Eve, but
03:10it's that sense of unity that is so special.
03:14First Night touches thousands, but its impact touches hundreds of thousands.
03:19For me, the greatest opportunity that I've had is the ability to have a chance to serve
03:24and serve you and be better together every day working with each and every one of you.
03:29This award isn't my award.
03:31It's our award.
03:32And to that, I say thank you to each and one of you that has helped me be able to achieve
03:36this and what we have achieved together, because there's no I in team, and while it may sound
03:41corny, it's us as leaders that come up with vision and inspire those to achieve it.
03:47But it's doing the work and working with you that inspires us.
03:51So I thank you for inspiring me, for being a part of the journey, and what we can continue
03:56to do to be better together, and what hope and unity can do to drive making stronger and
04:01better communities.
04:02Thank you again for the award.
04:04Thank you again for the opportunity, and have a fantastic and happy and safe New Year's.
Comments