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Conferences | Registration Form | Online Registration
2007 MEDC SUMMER CONFERENCE
July 18-20 - Pearl River Resort, Choctaw, MS
CREATING A CULTURE OF SUCCESS
Wednesday, July 18
9:00 AM Registration
10:00 AM MEDC Board Meeting
11:45 AM Luncheon: “Creating a Culture of Success”
Speaker: Chief Phillip Martin, Choctaw Tribal Council Chairman, Choctaw, MS
1:30 PM Concurrent Sessions
Option I – “The Southern Workforce”
Speaker: Jim Clinton, Executive Director, Southern Growth Policies Board, Durham, NC
Jim will present the 2007 Report on the Future of the South, the centerpiece of the SGPB’s Southern Workforce Summit, which includes an analysis of the state of the Southern workforce and regional needs, recommendations for action, innovative initiatives and state-level profiles and statistics.
Option II – “Overcoming Negativity”
Speaker: Jenny Nolen, Cullman, AL
Statistics show that 78% of conversation daily is negative. (Good Grief!). Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Jenny Nolen has been in the national spotlight as an entertainer, speaker, and trainer for over a quarter of a century.. She is enthusiasm personified! As a very unconventional presenter, she will go to any lengths to make sure her audience is relaxed, has fun, and is ready to learn and retain!
2:45 PM Ice Cream Social
Sponsor: AT&T
3:15 PM Concurrent Sessions
Option I – “The Mississippi Workforce”
Speakers: Jay Moon, President and CEO, Mississippi Manufacturers Association, and Chairman, Business Involvement and Workforce Enhancement Fund on the Workforce Investment Board, and Jason V. Pugh, Ph.D., Associate Executive Director, Workforce, Career and Technical Education, Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, Jackson
Learn about the new initiatives in workforce development in Mississippi that will impact local developers, the top jobs of the future and what we are doing to prepare for them, the important role community colleges play, and other aspects of this issue.
Option II – “7 L’s of Leadership”
Speaker: Jenny Nolen, Cullman, AL
Jenny strongly believes in order to be an effective leader you much master a certain skill set, most importantly the ability to laugh at yourself even in adversity. She will guide you through a self assessment of your leadership skills and bring you back to a place of re-commitment.
5:00-6:00 PM Reception
Sponsor: Government Consultants, Inc.
6:15 PM Buses leave for Neshoba County Fairgrounds
6:30 PM Neshoba County Fair Preview Party and Fish Fry (casual attire)
Sponsors: Community Development Partnership
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | Neshoba County Fair Association
W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
Established in 1889, the Neshoba County Fair® fosters political, agricultural, and social exchanges of knowledge and ideas. Home of the state's only licensed horse track since 1922 and the nation's largest campground fair, the fair is "Mississippi's Giant House Party®" and was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Thursday, July 19
7:00-8:15 AM Networking Breakfast
Sponsor: Tennessee Valley Authority
7:30 AM Registration
8:30 AM Concurrent Sessions
Option I – “Successful Existing Industry Programs”
Moderator : Jim Craig, Director, Existing Industry & Business, Mississippi Development Authority
Panel: Todd Beadles, Director of Workforce Dev., Community Development Foundation, Tupelo; Bill Scaggs, Manager, Business Development, East Mississippi Business Development Corporation; Mitch Stennett, President, Economic Development Authority of Jones County, Laurel; Tom Troxler, Executive Director, RankinFirst Economic Development Authority, Brandon.
Retaining your existing business and industry is an important component of local economic development. Learn from professionals who have top-notch programs.
Option II –“Capitalizing on Your Assets and Your Points of First Contact”
Speakers: Joy Foy, Director of Asset Development, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), Jackson and John Brandon, Associate Manager Senior, Existing Industry & Business Division, MDA, Jackson (creator of Secret Shopper Program)
The Asset Development Group is a new initiative within MDA created to focus on non-traditional economic development opportunities unique to Mississippi. Such opportunities often require longer term development and support than traditional projects or grants. The Secret Shopper Program focuses on how to best review and evaluate those who first come in contact with visitors to your community.
9:45 AM Networking Break
Sponsor: Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC
10:15 AM Concurrent Sessions
Option I –“Are You Providing Value to Your Existing Industry?”
Speaker: Dr. John J. Tice, IV, Director, Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi, Mississippi Technology Alliance, Ridgeland, MS
MEP.ms works with partner organizations to provide expertise and services tailored to the most critical needs of area manufacturers, which range from process improvements and worker training to business practices and applications of information technology.
Option II – “Hot Topics for Chamber Success”
Speaker: Chris Mead, VP, Member Relations, American Chamber of Commerce Executive (ACCE) , Alexandria, VA
The ACCE is a national association uniquely serving individuals involved in the management of chambers of all sizes. ACCE's mission is to support and develop chamber professionals to lead businesses and their communities.
NOON Lunch will be provided with Golf, Tennis, and the Shopping TOUR-nament.
For all other conference registrants including those signed up for the Choctaw Indian Reservation Tour, casino buffet lunch vouchers will be available at the registration desk from 9AM until noon.
AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES
GOLF - SPONSORED BY ENTERGY
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club | 12:00 Lunch at Club | 12:30 Shotgun start
Every hole at Dancing Rabbit is a work of art, featuring A4 Bentgrass greens, along with Zoysia fairways on the Oaks and Bermuda fairways on the Azaleas. Both courses were created by acclaimed golf course designer Tom Fazio and PGA great Jerry Pate.
TENNIS - Union Public School Courts | 12:00 Lunch | 12:45 bus departs | 1:00 tennis
A bus will transport tennis players to the brand new Union Public School Courts about 15 minutes away
Shopping TOUR-nament | 12:00 Buses leave for downtown Philadelphia
The small town charm of Philadelphia offers visitors an ol’ time drug store, a coffee shop to relax in after a day of shopping and bountiful shops to fill your shopping bags. Come shop on the square in Philadelphia. Lunch vouchers to local downtown restaurants will be provided.
CHOCTAW INDIAN RESERVATION TOUR | 1:00 bus departs and will return by 3:00
Don’t miss this exciting and unique opportunity to see areas of the Reservation that few people get to see on this private tour with tour guide Ivy Owen, Community Development Coordinator, Office of Economic Development of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
Sponsor: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
For additional activities to enjoy on your own, go to www.neshoba.org
Discounted tickets to Geyser Fall Water Theme Park will be available at the registration desk.
6:30 PM Reception - Governor's Cup / Community Economic Development Awards
7:30 PM Banquet - Governor's Cup / Community Economic Development Awards
Friday, July 20
7:00 - 8:15 AM Networking Breakfast
Sponsor: MISSISSIPPI ECONOMIC COUNCIL
“A Site Selection Consultant’s Perspective for Success. . .
8:30 AM …Trends and Current Reality”
9:30 AM …Elements of Successful Projects”
Speaker: Jeff Forsythe, Senior Consultant, McCallum Sweeney Consulting, Greenville, SC
Most recently, Jeff was the project manager for the PACCAR plant in Columbus, MS. Mc Callum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) provides site selection services and economic development consulting to companies and organizations worldwide. Recent MSC clients include Boeing, TVA, Nissan, Dollar General and Trex.
10:30 AM “Mississippi, Believe It!™”
Speaker: Rick Looser, President and COO, The Cirlot Agency, Jackson, MS
Meet the inspiring creative genius behind this highly successful public service campaign designed to inform and educate the citizens of Mississippi, as well as the rest of the country, about the wonderful people, aspects and facts associated with the state of Mississippi.
11:00 AM Business Session
11:30 AM Adjourn / Door Prizes (must be present to win)
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