Vision, Mission, Core Values
Bettendorf Business Alliance
March, 2020
Historic Vision: Almost four hundred years ago, Governor John Winthrop envisioned a new life in America, when he wrote on the ship Arebella, "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us." Derived from the Sermon on the Mount, Winthrop foresees a community built upon compassion, faithfulness, and optimism.
Centuries later President Ronald Reagan in his farewell speech to the nation revisited and reaffirmed that city on a hill theme and gave it definition when he said the city would be "a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity."
The Bettendorf Business Alliance (BBA) shares the city upon a hill vision and works to realize our community as a place teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hum with commerce and creativity.
Mission: The three-fold mission of the BBA derives from our vision of a city on a hill. We 1) help individual business succeed, 2) promote a vibrant community economic environment, and 3) support civic improvement projects.
We help individual businesses succeed as the practical expression of our compassion for others. Every business represents the dreams and financial well-being of individuals and families. An empty storefront is a dream lost. Together these local businesses contribute to the financial well-being of our community and make our city a better place to live. If we just talked about business topics in general and did nothing to help individual companies we failed our vision and mission.
To be a shining city on a hill, we promote a vibrant economic environment that serves as a beacon of hope to those individuals and families who work for their economic well-being.
Core Values: We value a positive culture that promotes the unity of purpose and encourages members participation, support, and activity. We are a welcoming organization emphasizing consensus, collaboration, respect, and trust. We are compassionate, optimistic, and dedicated to what is right. Martin Luther King. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter most."
We reject negativism, indifference, persistent criticism, anger, vindictiveness, and cynicism.
Our organization believes "as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will be ours," President Ronald Reagan. We affirm "The ultimate measure of a person is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," Martin Luther King