Bill Strickland, Pittsburgh native, entrepreneur and author of Making the Impossible Possible (2009), is coming to Hamilton this month. He will be giving a talk through Mohawk College Enterprise entitled, “A Tale of Two Cities: Pittsburgh a City Reborn…Hamilton a City on the Rise.” In reading the advertising for the event and about Strickland’s life and message, I can confidently say the talk will aim to inspire those in attendance to make positive possibilities for Hamilton reality. He argues that anything is can happen when one’s vision begins on the ground; in the very neighbourhoods people live in and care about.

Strickland grew up in Manchester, an inner-city neighbourhood in Pittsburgh, and with the caring attention of his high school art teacher he began to turn his life around. He attended college (something he may not have done without the mentoring of his teacher) and came back to Pittsburgh to found The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. The Guild is an after-school arts program that has continued to grow since its’ founding. Because of his success here he was asked to lead the Bidwell Training Center in 1971. This Center worked to give vocational training to citizens of Pittsburgh who were unemployed due to the declining steel industry.

Hamilton and Pittsburgh, as steel towns, have long been compared. In fact, Hamilton was once called the Pittsburgh of Canada. Now Hamiltonians are looking to Pittsburgh’s growing success as a city after serious decline as inspiration for our own economic recovery. The vision that Pittsburgh inspires is: a post-industrial, green, high tech, and arts driven city with a revitalized downtown core (see Mich Potter’s article published in the Spectator September 21, 2009).

At a time when people are actively envisioning a future for the city, Strickland’s talk will hopefully provide food for thought and open up discussion. Strickland dreams big but has made those dreams come true. On the surface Strickland may seem like a good example of the American Dream working in one man’s life but his is not just a story of one man’s success. In order to make his dreams a reality he relied on and built partnerships with powerful people and organizations that had common goals. People don’t act alone, and if we want to change our city we must work together.

A Tale of Two Cities – November 30th, Hamilton Place Theatre, 7 p.m. Tickets are free, and can be picked up at Mohawk College Enterprise (MCE), 101A-175 Longwood Road South (located on the first floor at the McMaster Innovation Park).