The award is being presented at a ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio today. Rourke will make the Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year address at ICF's annual Building the Broadband Economy summit in New York City on May 16.
OneCommunity is a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic development and improving quality of life by leveraging information technologies. ICF selected Rourke based on his groundbreaking work as a social entrepreneur in Northeast Ohio and his willingness to share hard-won lessons in ICT-based economic development with communities around the world.
"OneCommunity is proud to be a leader in the movement to ensure the success of Northeast Ohio in the new broadband economy, and I am privileged to accept this honor," Rourke said. "We remain committed to our transformative efforts in education, health care, workforce development and government that have helped establish our region as a model for communities worldwide."
ICF Chairman John G. Jung added, "In addition to taking OneCommunity from concept to dynamic reality, Rourke has freely shared its innovative business model and approach."
As OneCommunity's CEO, Rourke led the successful effort to develop an ultra-broadband community network serving first the city of Cleveland and then the entire Northeast Ohio region. The effort began in 2002 when Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University named Lev Gonick as its new CIO. Believing that the region's nonprofits should play a more active role in its recovery from industrial decline, Gonick assembled a group of community leaders that founded OneCleveland, OneCommunity's predecessor. Rourke joined the effort, turning this vision into reality. Under Rourke's leadership, OneCommunity forged partnerships with the region's telephone and cable carriers.
The OneCommunity network has expanded and will soon connect 1,500 schools, libraries, governments, hospitals and universities, cost-effectively delivering ultra broadband that enables applications such as distance learning and telemedicine. In recognition of the region's achievements, the Intelligent Community Forum named Northeast Ohio a 2008 Top Seven Intelligent Community of the Year. ICF will announce the Intelligent Community of the Year winner on May 16.
