MADA/MEDA CONFERENCE, A TERRIFIC EVENT!

The first joint conference of the Montana Aerospace Development Association and the Montana Economic Developers Association was held in Missoula on September 27,28 &29. The conference was attended by approximately 150 participants. A very interesting and informative agenda was presented. The meetings and events were held at the new Montana Technology Enterprise Center,(MonTec) and on the University of Montana campus.

The conference "kicked off" with a welcome from Dick King, President of MEDA and Executive Director of the Missoula Area Economic Development Corporation, and followed with a BBQ at MonTec along the bank of the Clark Fork River. This was both fun filled, with live musical entertainment, as well as an excellent opportunity for networking. The next morning the conference convened on the U.of M. campus. After a welcome to the Campus by Dr. Jon A. Rudbach, an information filled conference began with James Kambich, Chairman of MADA, providing an overview of MADA and Dave Micheletti, MADA president, providing a review of the MADA strategic plan.

This was followed by statements from Jim Foley representing Senator Max Baucus, Betsy Allen representing Senator Conrad Burns and Jeff Garrard representing Congressman Denny Rehberg. The remainder of the morning contained presentations from state and federal government agencies as well as from the private sector. The speakers provided useful information regarding the assistance available to aerospace related companies as well as other high technology businesses. The theme of the conference was the displaying of several local, state, and federal programs that are available to new or expanding businesses that can be utilized to achieve their goals. The MADA segment of the meeting ended with closing comments from Chairman Kambich and President Micheletti.

The luncheon keynote speaker was Dr. Daniel Dwyer University of Montana Vice President for Research and Economic Development. Dr. Dwyer emphasized the importance of coordinating the efforts of higher education with off campus entities. He further stated that the University of Montana is committed to the transfer of technology to the private sector companies ,local government, as well as development organizations. Dr. Dwyer also stated that the U. of M. would quickly and aggressively responds to requests for assistance from all Montanans. He highly commended the conference attendees for their dedication and commitment in working to expand the economy through the creation of higher paying job opportunities.

The MEDA segment of the conference began with a presentation by Geographic Information Systems(GIS) and Economic Development and how to utilize this system to support local economic development efforts. This was followed by a joint session with the Montana Association of Counties (MACO) to evaluate the proposed Legislative agenda. The next session was entitled "Explore Current Economic Development Websites". The Montana Smart Growth Coalition made a presentation addressing the need to beneficially affect the growth of Montana cities in the future.

Overall the conference was a tremendous success. Many people were exposed to the agenda adopted by MADA and MEDA to create and expand Montana businesses thereby creating higher paying job opportunities for Montana residents.