SVED economic summit 2016
BY YANNA LANTZ
Join the community on Thursday, Oct. 6, to learn, network and engage with Sun Valley Economic Development (SVED) at their fifth annual economic summit. The summit is intended for the business, government and nonprofit community and has become the go-to community business event. This year, the summit will explore “The Intersection of Housing and Talent Attraction” as its theme. The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Sun Valley Inn’s Limelight Room.
“This is an opportunity for community leaders – both the private sector and the public sector – to get together and talk strategically about our future as a business community,” explained Harry Griffith, SVED executive director. “It’s really the only event across the county that talks about the state of economic development and our future going forward.”
“At our annual retreat, the SVED board was debating various economic issues to focus on in 2016,” said Doug Brown, SVED spokesperson. “Attracting talent and businesses to our market was a big favorite until we started drilling down on infrastructure. We realized that our middle-income housing market was tightening and that our affordable housing needs were growing. We looked to future trends and realized that we had a gap in housing availability for a local economy that was trying to grow again.”
This year’s summit will operate differently than in previous years. The focus of the day will be on three interactive panels between moderators, panelists and the audience. Twenty panelists from varying fields and varying perspectives will provide input. The panels will explore different perspectives on the community’s housing-talent challenges and opportunities in the categories of “Business/Employer,” “Developer/Builder” and “Regulatory Authority.”
“Each of those panels is designed to tee-up information for the community about housing and talent attraction issues,” Griffith said.
National economic development leader Jon Roberts, of TIP Strategies of Austin, Texas, will open the morning by framing the issues at hand and setting the stage for the community discussions. Roberts worked with the Wood River Valley on a community economic development plan in 2005-2008.
“Jon is a national-level player in economic development,” Griffith said. “He works with cities large and small across the country – places like Austin and Portland – helping them think about what they can do better and how they can resolve economic development issues or gaps in their arsenal. He brings a national perspective, but because he has worked with our community, he understands our nuances.”
Roberts will end the day by summarizing the community discussion, examining how similar communities are dealing with these issues and how best to move forward with action steps.
“By getting all the stakeholders (employers, builders, local government) into a focused, open-minded discussion, we hope to mutually understand the challenges and find practical, actionable solutions we can embrace and move forward together with a general consensus,” Brown said. “SVED sees itself as the tugboat nudging the ocean liner toward the dock. We welcome your participation in our discussion of what that dock could look like. We need your help!”
The summit will include a continental breakfast and networking session starting at 8 a.m., coffee breaks and a buffet luncheon. Tickets are $100 for the summit and can be purchased online at sunvalleyeconomy.org/summit-schedule.