By Taren Powell
Congressman John Curtis hosted the annual Rural Business Summit on Monday, Aug. 23 at the USU Eastern Price campus. The event kicked off with Sydnie Callahan, Carbon High School Sterling Scholar, who introduced Congressman Curtis.
Congressman Curtis then gave his welcoming remarks, where he expressed how happy he was to be in the area and shared how rural Utah has his heart. He noted that growing up, he had family members who were directly involved and worked in coal mines, meaning that places like Carbon, Emery and Grand counties will always be special to him. Curtis shared his appreciation for the hard work ethic that comes from rural areas.
Guests then attended breakout sessions. Breakout session one included “Defining and Demystifying Infrastructure,” presented by Stuart Clason, Regional Growth Director for the Utah Association of Counties. “Revitalizing Utah’s Main Streets” was presented by Nan Anderson, Utah Main Street Program Director; Jade Powell, Assistant Director of Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments; Roger Roper, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer; and Nick Tatton, Price City Manager. There was also a panel discussion about “Building a Labor Force in Rural Utah.” The panel included Greg Cook, CEO of Castleview Hospital; Gary Straquadine, Associate Vice President of Utah State University; Ryan Starks, Managing Director of Business Services at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development; and Greg Dart, Associate Vice President of Utah State University Eastern, who was the moderator for the panel.
The second breakout session included “Utah Housing Affordability Amendments S.B 164” presented by Representative Christine Watkins, Utah Legislature. “Collaborating to Create a Perpetual Tourism Economy” was presented by David M. Williams, Associate Managing Director for the Utah Office of Tourism. Doug Miller, Associate Professor of Business of Entrepreneurship, gave a presentation about “The Creative Problem-Solving Process.”
Breakout session three included “Remote Work: Benefits and Challenges,” this was presented by Dominic Bria, Program Manager for Rural Online Initiative. “Tourism, a Piece of Your Economic Development Strategy,” was presented by Natalie Randall, Executive Director of the Utah Tourism Industry Association. There was also a panel including John Houston, Chairman of Intermountain Electronics; Spencer Loveless, CEO of Dustless Technologies; Gary Straquadine, Associate Vice President of Utah State University; and moderator Doug Miller, Associate Professor of Business of Entrepreneurship. They discussed “Rural Manufacturing: Challenges and Benefits.”
Once the breakout sessions wrapped up, guests were given lunch as they listened to another round of speakers. The plenary speaker of the afternoon was Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson. After Lt. Governor Henderson’s address, Alexis Dart, Carbon High School Student Body President, then introduced Governor Spencer Cox as the keynote speaker.
Governor Cox addressed the importance of hearing rural Utah’s voice in the economic future of the state. He has a love for rural communities and understands how much they contribute to the state’s economy. He then thanked the local leaders who are bolstering rural Utah and promised to help by expanding broadband, developing the rural leadership academy and investing in physical infrastructure.
Congressman Curtis took the stage once more to thank everyone who had organized the event, also taking time to thank his staff for their efforts and the speakers for their time.
Greg Dart then welcomed everyone to take a short drive to the open house for the Business Technical Assistance Center. While there, guests were treated to snacks that were prepared by Toni Thayn in the newly-remodeled commercial kitchen. After a tour of the Business Technical Assistance Center, Governor Cox expressed that the center will foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southeast Utah and he is looking forward to seeing the success that comes from it.
