Economic Summit scheduled for Jan. 26 at Southeastern

Press Release Date: 1-1-2012

DURANT, Okla. – A number of distinguished state and regional leaders will be among the speakers/panelists at the E3 Summit, which is part of the Making Place Matter initiative from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The event, scheduled for Jan. 26, will begin at 8 a.m. with registration in room 103 of the General Classroom Building (1429 N. 7th) at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

The theme of the day is E3 – Engage Our Publics. Envision the Future. Empower the Region. The economic development summit is sponsored by Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Among the distinguished speakers are Dave Lopez, Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Tourism, and Chad R. Wilkerson, vice president, economist, and Oklahoma City Branch executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. They will offer remarks on the State of the Region.

Long active in corporate and community leadership positions, Lopez continues to direct his energies to civic and business endeavors as the Secretary of Commerce for the State of Oklahoma.

Governor Mary Fallin appointed Lopez in February of last year to help lead the state’s economic development efforts and to serve on the governor’s cabinet. Lopez is a retired officer of SBC Communications (now AT&T) and he was most recently president of the American Fidelity Foundation, based in Oklahoma City.

Before concluding a 22-year career with AT&T, Lopez held a variety of executive positions with its predecessor company in Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Austin. Lopez served his last six years as an officer of the corporation, including a four-year assignment as its president of Oklahoma and later as president of Texas.

Lopez returned to Oklahoma in 2003 and he has served on the boards of directors for numerous non-profit organizations and corporate boards in the state.

Wilkerson was appointed Branch executive of the Oklahoma City Branch in 2006, and was promoted to vice president in 2008. In this role, he serves as the Bank’s lead officer and regional economist in Oklahoma, and is responsible for recruiting the Oklahoma City Branch's board of directors and for briefing the Kansas City Fed's president on economic and business conditions in the state.

In addition to conducting regional economic research and supervising the Bank's beige book and manufacturing surveys, Wilkerson speaks regularly to business, banking, and civic groups throughout Oklahoma and beyond, and serves in board leadership roles for several Oklahoma nonprofit organizations.

Prior to his appointment as assistant vice president, economist, and Oklahoma City Branch executive in 2006, Wilkerson spent seven and a half years as a policy economist and research associate in the Bank's economic research department in Kansas City.

For more information about the summit, contact Kathy Hendrick, director of the Southeastern Center for Regional Economic Development, at 580-745-2046.

Below is the agenda for the summit:

8:00 am – 8:30 am
Registration
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Opening Remarks and Overview of Making Place Matter Process
Dr. Larry Minks, President, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

9:00 am – 9:50 am
Innovative Economy
Community and Economic Development, Workforce Enhancement, Business Retention and Expansion.
Texoma Regional Consortium-Leveraging the Power of Partnerships
Tony Kaai, President, Denison Development Kerry Manning, Director, Southern Workforce Board Bob Rhoden, Director of External Relations, Workforce Solutions Texoma Kathy Hendrick, Director, Southeastern Center for Regional Economic Development

10:00 am – 11:00 am
Social Inclusion
Education, Civic Involvement, Career Technology, Rural Environments, Demographic Issues
Dr. Larry Minks, President, Southeastern Oklahoma State University Dr. Jeanne Hardin, Vice- President, Grayson County College Dr. Jason Simeroth, Superintendent Durant ISD Dr. Henry Scott, Superintendent Denison ISD

State of the Region
Dave Lopez , Secretary of Commerce and Tourism

Chad Wilkerson, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Vice-President and Oklahoma Branch Executive

1:15 pm – 2:00 pm Collaborative Governance
Public/Private Partnerships, Regional Collaborations, Refine Boundaries and Regional Alliances, Strengthen Native American Tribal Relationships, Tapping Governmental (local, state, national) Resources Matt Gregory, Director of Economic Development, Choctaw Nation Representative from the Chickasaw Nation Dr. Susan Thomas, Executive Director Texoma Council of Governments Wes Bowman, Executive Director, Southern Oklahoma Development Agency

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Just the Facts!
Deidre Myers, Oklahoma Department of Commerce

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Livable Community
Quality of Life Matters, Community Revitalization, Accessible Transportation, Business Friendly Environment for Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs & Industry, Cultural and Tourism Opportunities, Planning and Zoning Katy Cummins, Project Manager-Tourism Branding Initiative and Manager of Community and Economic Development, Texoma Council of Governments Jerry Tomlinson, Mayor of Durant, Regional Economic and Tourism Development Dr. Bill Carter, Director, Oklahoma Small Business Development Center Dr. Aaron Adair, Asst. Dean, Reach Higher, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

4:00 pm
Closing remarks and Next Steps
Dr. Larry Minks and Kathy Hendrick