James Whitfield surveyed the crowd of nearly 500 and said he knew the future of the Eastside was in good hands.

As president of Leadership Eastside, Whitfield led a panel discussion on Feb. 13 at the Meydenbauer Center, with Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad; Kimberly Harris, CEO of Puget Sound Energy; and Lauren Thomas, CEO of Hopelink, focused on how those in attendance can do their part to ensure a thriving, healthy community.

“Everyone deserves to thrive in this area,” Whitfield told the Reporter. “We can’t create a greater future by ourselves, we need everyone in this room.”

The luncheon, a “Future-Raiser” not a fundraiser, also served as the kick-off to the group’s year-long 10th anniversary celebration.

Those in attendance spent the majority of the time listening and talking to each other about the keys to a healthy community, which Whitfield listed as “basic needs, health and wellness, education, economy, arts and culture, neighborhoods and communities and a healthy environment.”

“You’re starting to feel a real charge on the Eastside, people are really rolling up their sleeves and getting work done,” Harris said. “We’re talking about infrastructure constantly in this state, but it can’t be just about roads and bridges, we have to include energy solutions.

Fellow panelist and developer Johnson agreed with Harris adding the Eastside’s future success depends on well planned out infrastructure, but also its education and connections.

Each of the attendees were asked to write down an idea on how they’d like to improve the Eastside community. Students in Leadership Eastside’s two-year development class, will go through all the submissions to decide which project they’ll tackle this year. The full list is slated to be released later this year.

“The spirit of collaboration is alive and well here on the Eastside,” Whitfield said. “It’s the reason I’m so optimistic about our future.”