| Summit attendees listen to Scott Hirschi speak at the morning general session of the economic summit held at the Carbon County Events Center. |
Success can be defined in many ways and for the individual the description certainly varies from case to case.
But when it comes to an event it is successful when people get something out of it. And if that is the definition, then the Carbon-Emery Economic Summit that was held last week between the two counties was a success.
In the three days the event took place, over 300 people took part in the reception, dinner, certification classes and general sessions that were held on Friday at the Carbon County Events Center.
The summit was the first event of its kind held in the new center on the Carbon County Fairgrounds and the building was utilized with dozens of businesses setting up booths, and hundreds of people filing by those booths to learn more about the products and services offered.
Wednesday night the opening reception and dinner was held at the North Springs Recreation Area where attendees were entertained by music and were able to shoot various kinds of firearms on the new range.
Thursday’s program offered certification classes in areas like land use and planning, as well as in transportation areas of interest. Many of the people who attended this were government and private individuals who needed certification hours for the professions they are involved in.
| Eva Tseng, the dietitian at Castleview Hospital, makes a point about the “D” word during a presentation at the summit. |
Thursday night was a big event at the Castle Valley Ranch, hidden off the road just north of Emery. The evening was filled with good food, cowboy poetry, cowboy music and beautiful scenery. As if on cue just as everyone began dinner a huge bull elk (named Earl according to ranch owners) walked no more that 50 feet from where everyone was eating. It was a truly magical evening with the cool air and carnival like atmosphere.
On Friday the general sessions were held with Scott Hirschi, the Washington County economic director speaking at the opening breakfast meeting and Kristen Cox, the state executive director speaking at the luncheon meeting.
Hirschi, a native of St. George, spoke about the tremendous growth that Washington County has had in the last two decades and how a sleepy little town he knew as a boy has grown into what is now considered a metropolitan area. He pointed out that Price has, in many ways, the potential of similar growth. He also said that with the growth comes problems, particularly if planning for the growth is not done properly.
At lunch, Cox talked about development in Utah and the growth of the economy and job market. She related a lot of her experiences at the national level working for the National Federation of the Blind, as a special assistant to he commissioner of rehabilitation services in the Bush administration and as the director of the office for individuals with disabilities in the state of Maryland. She told the crowd that the future for jobs in the area and in the state would continue to be bright.
In between the key note addresses attendees had time to browse through the booths, where a lot of business transactions took place.
| Summit committee chair Jo Sansevero talks with Susan Etzel and Mark Olson. |
In addition, breakout sessions were offered in many different areas, from health care to bee keeping to business innovation to energy development and training. Many of the sessions were well attended and people walked away with a great deal of information.
For many, some of the most interesting presenters were the local businesses that had five minute sessions to talk about their businesses, their dreams and how they have built their enterprises. There were a lot of thank you’s passed out from those that spoke about the support of the community. There were even a few tears shed about the emotions that one must go through to make a business go and succeed.
To end the program a number of drawings were done for prizes donated by sponsors of the summit which included dozens of local businesses, some big, some small. After the drawings were done people wandered around a little more as booths were taken down to be stowed for the next show they would be set up for.
A success it was, and next years summit promises to be even better.