For additional information:
Megan Purtell, WEDA
608-255-5666
More than 140 economic development leaders from around the state are expected to attend the 2005 Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) spring conference, which starts Thursday, May 5 at the Wintergreen Resort in Wisconsin Dells. The hands-on conference will feature sessions on strategies to nurture entrepreneurs, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, finding the right community catalysts to spur entrepreneurial development, entrepreneurs and inventors’ clubs, and best practices in growing young entrepreneurs.
Featured speakers and panelists will include:
Keynote Speaker Jan Twombly is the president of The Rhythm of Business, Inc., a Boston-based consultancy and thought leader in the emerging discipline of relationship business.
Pam Christenson is director of the Bureau of Entrepreneurship within the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. Created in October 2003, as part of Governor Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin economic development plan, the Bureau houses the agency’s initiatives to nurture high potential entrepreneurial companies.
Erica Kauten is the managing director of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network and the state director of the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center, two organizations dedicated to helping Wisconsin small businesses plan, manage, and grow.
Dave Bayless is one of three principals of a new Bozeman, Montana company called Evergreen IP. They are building a “product capital” firm that will seek out, and invest in, wickedly good, patented consumer products in collaboration with inventors.
Registration forms are available on the WEDA web site at www.weda.org or by calling Megan Purtell, conference coordinator, at 608-255-5666. Media are invited to attend the May 4 – 6 conference; other interviews may be scheduled.
Who: Economic Developers, business leaders, local elected officials, etc.
What: WEDA Spring Conference “Growing Wisconsin through Entrepreneurship: A New Economic Culture”
Where: Wintergreen Resort
60 Gasser, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
When: Wednesday, May 4 – Friday, May 6, 2005
The Wisconsin Economic Development Association fosters economic development in the State of Wisconsin by providing leadership in defining and advocating economic development initiatives by continually striving to develop the professional practice of economic development.
