The entrepreneurs in this room with their vision, energy, commitment, dedication and sense of urgency have created dreams and opportunities and built successful business enterprises by exercising this freedom. As a result, you have created jobs, accumulated wealth and put yourself and your companies in a position where you can do good for others. It is my hope that all of you will continue to prosper and will do good for others by giving back to your family, your community, your churches and other charitable organizations, as well as investing in our political system to make the Tri-State the best that it can be. There are only opportunities, and they keep coming. In a vast majority of the cases, these dreams and opportunities are created by entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs are by definition leaders and innovators.
They have simply never learned to follow. Thank God for the entrepreneurial spirit. Moreover, mergers, takeovers and restructurings have diluted Cincinnati's major corporate businesses. In many cases, persons without strong Cincinnati roots are placed in various key management positions. As a result, our city loses part of its history and possibly part of its commitment to the future.