The recent trip to Denver by metro Atlanta leaders exposed several weaknesses that we face as a region.

On the 12th annual LINK (Leadership, Innovation, Networking, Knowledge) trip, about 110 Atlantans took an in-depth look at how Denver has been able to progress in the past decade while metro Atlanta has lagged behind.

A number of the people on the trip reflected on our weaknesses upon their return. Incidentally, a metro Atlanta LINK delegation made a trip to Denver in 1997, so this trip gave regional leaders an opportunity to contrast the two cities at two points in time.

What they found in Denver was a region undergoing an aggressive effort to build out a transit system in all directions; a region that has found ways to work together to support the arts, culture, sports facilities and transportation; a metro area with strong and dynamic leaders; and a place that had been confronting some of its toughest problems, such as indigent health care and water shortages, head on.

In every one of those cases, metro Atlanta leaders saw ways that we could improve our environment to become more like Denver.

In fact, the group was so motivated by the end of the trip that it had a lively closing session seeking ways to spark change in Georgia --- particularly when it comes to transportation funding.