All of us here at CMSC are thrilled to introduce our new Board Chair, Mr. Ted DeSantos. Ted takes over from outgoing Board Chair Shelly Saczynski, with whom he served as Vice Chair. Since joining the CMSC Board in 2011, Ted has proven himself to be a very active member, regularly attending our Downtown Revitalization Institute workshops and other events, as well as participating in CMSC's initiatives by offering valuable feedback and technical guidance on issues such as Complete Streets and creating transit villages. He is a diligent, affable ambassador for CMSC, engaging funders and securing sponsorships from his own company, Fuss & O'Neill.

In terms of professional development, Ted is beyond qualified to lead the CMSC Board. He is a Principal and member of the Board of Directors at Fuss & O'Neill Inc., a consulting firm with six offices in New England and South Carolina providing expertise in environmental, infrastructure, community planning and development, as well as energy, facilities and design-build services. As a licensed Professional Engineer in six states and Certified Professional Traffic Operations Engineer, Ted has 20 years experience in transportation engineering, complete streets design, and urban site development. Ted has worked locally and nationally with municipalities and developers to accomplish smart growth, job creation and community building through public-private partnership.

We look forward to working with Ted in his new role as CMSC Board Chair, confident his expertise will help us reach our FY 2014 goals and position us to continue building on the momentum gained over the last year.

Waterbury's economic development administrators saw multiple purposes for undertaking this project. Involvement in Fireball Run was seen as a strong marketing tool. It also provided the opportunity to bring community elements together and demonstrate that, "we are still vital and capable; our downtown is still an attractive destination; we 'can do', and there is much to be proud of in Waterbury." Local coordinators wanted to demonstrate the City's spirit; highlight the attractive nature of Waterbury for business development; accentuate the positive about the community; have some fun; and aid in the effort to help find missing children.

Fireball Run 2012 presented an opportunity to showcase Downtown Waterbury as it is today, remind people of its history and past glory, and present a visible sense of what the City can be in the near future. It provided a clear demonstration of what the City Center can be when creative thinking and renewed energy are brought to strategic planning and use of Downtown resources.

The 42 teams of Fireball Run drivers visited Waterbury on September 27, 2012. During their visit, they went on an assigned scavenger hunt at the TimeExpo Museum, the historic Republican-American building, the Mattatuck Museum, and the Waterbury Green. At each landmark they received clues to accomplish missions they were assigned based on local history, geography, and pop culture. This was a fun way to involve many downtown businesses and members of the community. Upon arrival at the Green, drivers were celebrated with a free event for the entire Waterbury community to enjoy, including live music, a re-enactment of John F. Kennedy's 1960 election-eve speech from the balcony of the former Elton Hotel, games, and a scavenger hunt for children. It was a spectacularly beautiful fall afternoon when they arrived and thousands of people came to the Green to enjoy the highly-spirited activities and fun.

Approximately 5,000 people from Waterbury and surrounding towns came into downtown to be on the Green when the racers arrived. Thirty businesses served as sponsors or vendors, and sponsor contributions ranged from $500 to $10,000. Two hundred-fifty people attended the evening soiree that welcomed and entertained the Fireball Run organizers and race participants.

Fireball Run organizers said it was Waterbury's organized effort, obvious wide spread enthusiasm, vision for involvement in pursuing the event's goals, and strong support from the City's administration that made it a clear choice as a destination city. Ultimately, it was the quality of the City's work that caused Fireball Run organizers to declare Waterbury a "Great American City."

Out of this experience came the confidence and vision to establish a new economic development campaign for the City of Waterbury entitled, "Waterbury, Be Here." Its goal is to tell positive stories about Waterbury, using print, web, radio, and videos. The plan is to encourage recognition that Waterbury's positive and significant strengths provide opportunities to residents and businesses and is worthy of investment.

The Fireball Run drivers' visit was viewed live by over three million viewers on www.fireballrun.com The website streamed the entire road adventure from Ohio to Maine live between September 21st and 29th. This year, the drivers' eight-day expedition will be viewed by millions more when the "Fireball Run AdventuRally - Northern Exposure" feature film is released nationwide.