SEVEN LOCALS NAMED TO GROUP The Calgary Sun Wednesday, April 16, 2003 Page: 39 Section: News Byline: BY NOVA PIERSON, CALGARY SUN Seven Calgarians are among the chosen 100 charting creative futures for North American cities. The group is part of the Creative 100 from 40 cities expected to produce plans to help other cities compete to draw in "the creative class," as part of the Memphis Manifesto summit later this month. HEAVY ON CALGARIANS The fact an unrepresentative number of Calgarians have been asked to attend the Tennessee summit from April 30 to May 2 speaks to the success of the city in attracting young, vibrant residents, according to Colin Jackson, president and CEO of the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts -- one of the Calgary seven and a presenter at the conference. Part of that work has been done by Canada 25, an under-35 group focused on keeping the country an attractive place to work and live, he said. "(Is Calgary) doing well at the moment? Yes," said Jackson. "But I'd like to see us translate it more into the future and not just rest in the moment." The summit is the brainchild of Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class: How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, who spoke to Calgary's business and municipal leaders earlier this year. ARTS ATTRACT THE BEST Jackson said the arts are just one factor that make communities strong and attract the creative and entrepreneurial people who are willing to take risks -- and the firms who employ them. The other six from Calgary chosen to take part in the summit are Suzanne Boss from Inspiration Catalyst; Grant Doyle, president of Calgary Renaissance Corp.; Dean Koeller, vice-president of Calvert Home Mortgage; Naheed Nenshi, an educator and consultant with the University of Calgary and Ascend Group; Chima Nkemdirim, a lawyer with Fraser Milner Casgrain; and Joel Tennison with Malibu Engineering and Software.