Today, a New York based think-tank, known as the Intelligent Community Forum, will officially announce that it has named Premier Shawn Graham as the 2010 "Visionary of the Year".

The ICF is a think-tank which basically focuses on studying the economic and social developments of the current community. The forum has shared that it has picked Premier Graham mainly based on "his dedication to make New Brunswick the first complete broadband province in Canada and transform its educational system to pursue a knowledge-based economy".

In addition, the newly honored Premier has been requested to deliver the Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year address at the annual summit of the forum which is now scheduled to take place in New York City on May 21.

The forum believes that all thanks to Premier Graham, despite being a predominantly rural community, New Brunswick is now steadily and strongly diversifying its towns and rural areas to try and shape an economy which is all set to effectively face the 21st century.

Founder of Wikia, Angela Beesley and Jimmy Wales, Communications Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Amirzai Sangin and Scot Rourke, President and Chief Executive Officer of OneCommunity are among the previous receivers of the forum's honor.