The La Plata County Economic Development Alliance will host the 12th annual Economic Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at the Sky Ute Casino & Resort in Ignacio. The day-long business conference, themed "Versatility: The Real Competitive Advantage," will address today's business challenges and provide ideas and models to help overcome those obstacles.
The summit offers more than a dozen speakers and breakout sessions including keynote presenter Dr. Gregory Bunch of the University of Chicago. Bunch draws on a wealth of experience as an entrepreneur, manager, consultant, alderman, and teacher. He is the founder of Masterplan International Corporation, a strategy consulting firm. He was also a partner at Brandtrust, a brand strategy consultancy. Bunch co-founded a healthcare software start-up in the Bay Area. He works with Fortune 50 companies, family businesses and start-ups in the areas of innovation and strategy.
Bunch will not only provide a keynote address on "The Strategic Leader in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World," but he will also host a breakout workshop session on the topic to dive a little deeper.
Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, James Coleman, owner of Mountain Capital Partners/Purgatory and Marcie Bidwell, executive director at Mountain Studies Institute, will give a Tourism and Resiliency panel discussion/presentation during lunch. The tourism panel is expected to speak about their businesses coming challenges and what they are doing to prepare for them.
Summit attendees will also hear from Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of La Plata County Economic Development Alliance. Zalneraitis will give a summary of our local economy's trends in the various sectors and what it might mean for local businesses in the short and long term. Other breakout sessions throughout the day will cover topics such as marketing, foreign trade and export, leadership, risk management, investing for business, manufacturing and patents, entrepreneurialism, and more.
To register for the event and to find detailed information about speakers, presentations and sponsors, visit www.yeslpc.com. The event ticket cost is $65 per person for Alliance members and $80 per person for non-members. The ticket is all inclusive of the sessions and networking opportunities as well as the breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception.
The Alliance is a public-private partnership whose vision is make La Plata County the premier Rocky Mountain destination to start, own and grow business, while enjoying a superior quality of life. Investors of the Alliance are dedicated to collaboration among the public, non-profit, and private sectors to strengthen the local economy through retention, expansion, and recruitment of quality businesses. For more information, contact the Alliance at 259-1700. Bunch's appearance is made possible by keynote sponsors World Pay, Fort Lewis College and GCC Energy.
