by Vicente Ramos, Citizen Journalist for the Grand Vision
On Wednesday afternoon, I went to the Traverse Area Association of Realtors (TAAR) office, ostensibly to do an interview with Kim Pontius on the association’s upcoming GreenFest event Saturday (5/8). Less than two minutes into the conversation, however, I realized the real story was actually sitting opposite me.
Kim Pontius, Executive Vice President of TAAR, and one of the lead organizers of GreenFest, is a savvy businessman, a passionate advocate for intelligent environmental planning, and an intellectual who receives NASA tech briefs and can cite obscure articles on marketing from a 1960 copy of the Harvard Business Review—from memory. Perhaps more importantly, he embodies that new image of a business leader who sees commerce and ecological responsibility as mutually inclusive propositions.
Pontius hails from Indiana, but his roots in the Traverse City area are extensive and profound. For twenty years, he vacationed here, attracted by the natural beauty and what he calls “a creative class of people.”
“There’s more creative juice in this area than virtually any other part of the country,” he said with a knowing smile. “The potential for diverse, economic growth is undeniable, due in part to the people and in part because of the access to the greatest concentration of fresh water in the world and the many possibilities this engenders. There’s no doubt in my mind Traverse City will grow over the next twenty years,” he continued “that’s why the need for intelligent planning that respects our people, natural resources and environment is crucial.”
Significantly, this conviction is informed not only by his love for the area’s natural beauty and the creativity of its people, but also by a healthy respect for research.
Throughout his life, Pontius has always been a reader, fascinated by the natural sciences, art, spirituality and agriculture. Little wonder that his perspective on environmental planning and development is, in part, informed by Albert Birabasi’s Linked, where the connections between ourselves, our commerce, our education and our future are seen through the prism of an almost Zen-like appeal for a world view more consistent with what civilization can be than that which has obtained for over two millennia.
To wit, Pontius was attracted to an area where the possibility of intelligent planning and development was consistent with the needs of a population historically and economically rooted in its natural resources and a healthy respect for posterity—a community of entrepreneurs, artisanal farmers, laborers and others who know, intuitively, regardless of relative comfort or demands, the decisions we make today will have a profound effect on what we will leave our children. This world-view, more than anything else, attracted Pontius and his family to Traverse City.
“I’ve always been a risk taker,” he notes, “an entrepreneurial person who can weigh business costs and opportunity, but like so many native Michiganders, I’m also someone who understands that our greatest natural resources are also our greatest responsibilities. I know, for example, that what makes this area so attractive to visitors are our forests, lakes, rivers and streams,” he continued, “but I also know that what makes Traverse City such a great place to live are the people; people who understand that natural blessings require proper stewardship if we are to grow and develop into an area suitable for our children and their children. Therein lies my commitment to preserving the environmental integrity of our community.”
Whether heading TAAR’s environmental initiatives or speaking to a group of business people on the need for reasoned commercial and residential real estate development, Kim is an informed, articulate speaker with a sense of humor and no small sense of irony.
“You have to begin from the perspective that development—be it economic or social—is multi-faceted and contingent upon interconnected components, all of which depend upon one another,” he says. “If you want to generate growth through mixed land usage, for example, you have to consider how your proposal will impact any number of community needs and requirements. Simply put, you cannot plan any type of housing or commercial development without first taking into consideration the transportation needs of future residents or workers.”
Given the state of international energy resources, Kim quickly adds, by “transportation” he necessarily means “public” transportation. “Transportation drives development, not the other way around," Pontius said. "Developing a site and then thinking about how people are going to get back and forth is simply not rational.” This thought, alone, encapsulates Kim’s take on the future of social and economic development in Traverse City and throughout America.
According to Pontius, more than at any other time in our nation’s history, unprecedented advances in science and technology promise a new world where our possibilities will be limited only by our imagination. Making the most of these extraordinary developments will require measured thought, respectful contemplation and considered stewardship of natural resources threatened by the very people who depend upon it. Somehow, I’m kind of glad people like Kim are helping us sort it all out.
Oh, and, by the way: GreenFest activities are scheduled for Saturday, May 8th at Clinch Park, 8 am to 5pm. Consult the TAAR website (www.taar.com/content/greensolutions4-greenfest) or call the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS (231-947-2050 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 231-947-2050 end_of_the_skype_highlighting) for more information and a schedule of events.