Summit brings education to those in business

By Sun Advocate

For the first time in its short history, the Castle Country Ecomomic Summit will be held primarilly in Carbon County this year on Sept. 19, 20 and 21.
The brain child of a few Emery county business people only a few years ago, the summit has grown in size and intensity each year and this edition of the conference will be no different.
Most of the events will be held at the new Carbon County Events Center at the Carbon County Fairgrounds. But there are also some side events that will take place at the North Springs Shooting and Recreation Area as well as at the Castle Vally Ranch in Emery County.
Once again the theme of the conference will be “Spurring Development” with the program full of educational opportunities for all kinds of business from retail to agriculture.
Things get started on Sept. 19 at the North Springs complex with a dinner and entertainment for the evening at the Castle Gate Cowboy Town. Located about 15 miles southwest of Price. While entertainment will be provided by the Balance Rock Regulators, participants can also participate in shooting on the range for a small fee. The shooting club will provide the weapons (pistol, shotgun and rifle) along with the ammunition for those that want to shoot.
On Thursday certification classes will be held at the events center. Some of the courses will concentrate on land use, planning and zoning, road construction, transportation master plans, irrigation water management and pesticide application.
That evening many conference attendees will be able to attend a dinner and entertainment at the Castle Valley Ranch. Entertainment will be provided by cowboy poets Val Carter and Brenda “Sam” Deleeuw.
On Friday the emphasis switches to general sessions, keynote addresses and workshops back at the Carbon County Events Center.
Breakfast and registration will take place from 7-8 a.m. with keynote breakfast speaker Scott Hirschi, the economic development director of Washington County doing the honors.

Hirschi, a native of St. George has witnessed that area transform from a small, isolated farming community to the fastest growing MSA in the entire nation. An active entrepreneur for the first 20 years after his formal education, he later worked for a United States congressman and served as a county commissioner. Those two experiences helped him shepherd the creation of a habitat conservation plan designed to protect the environment of Washington County while allowing for continued expansion of its economy. After serving as the first director of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, Scott was asked to direct the activities of the Washington County Utah Economic Development Council, a post he has held for the past 11 years.
Breakout sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. with such classes as Fields of Dreams-How to Profit From Small Fruit and Vegetable Production, Ratcheting Up Marketing 101, and Building a Healthy Community.
From 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. sessions will include Bee a Beekeeper, Business Innovation: Technical and Financial Assistance and Brand and the Economics of Tourism.
At the noon breakout sessions the offerings will include Great Alternatives to Feeding Livestock through the Winter, Sources of Capital and WTEC: What is in the Future.
In between all sessions there will be dozens of booths and vendors for attendees to visit to get information and services and products.

The day will end with a luncheon keynote address by Kristen Cox. She is currently serving as Utah State Executive Director of Workforce Services. Cox was born in Bellevue, Wash. While growing up in Utah, Cox gradually lost most of her vision starting about age 11 due to a degenerative genetic condition caused by “a rare recessive trait,” (Stargardt’s disease), so she had to use a white cane for walking.
She attended Brigham Young University, where she had to memorize everything because she had not yet learned Braille. Cox received her B.A. in educational psychology with a certificate in special education in 1995. After graduation, Cox went to work for the Utah chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. In 1998 Cox moved to Baltimore to become Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs for the national organization.
In 2001 she was appointed by President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Education “where she helped developed national initiatives to promote the employment and independence of individuals with disabilities.”
She joined the Ehrlich administration in 2003 as director of the office for individuals with disabilities. On July 1, 2004 she was confirmed by the Maryland State Senate as secretary of the nation’s first cabinet level Department of Disabilities.
Also included throughout the days program will be five minute intervals where local business leaders will get a chance to talk about their businesses and their operations.
For more information about the conference contact Jo Sanservero at 435-384-2648 or Dorothy Carter at 435-636-2820.