By Jade Powell
When the launch of Silicon Slopes East was announced in March of 2020, the organization didn’t envision the speed bump in the road the world was going to encounter – COVID-19. A goal of Silicon Slopes East is to hold monthly events that would do one or more of the following:
1) Promote what tech looks like in Carbon and Emery counties (Coal Country),
2) Encourage remote working in the two-county region, and
3) Bolster the entrepreneurial spirit in Coal Country.
One thing that has been proven by the recent COVID-19 pandemic is that remote working is feasible. Many businesses across the country had to adapt to remote working and many are looking at remote working as being a part of the new normal in their business. Something that sets Coal Country apart from the rest of Utah is that fiber internet runs directly to the homes in Carbon and Emery counties thanks to Emery Telcom’s infrastructure. This is a huge advantage over other locations because the fiber internet makes remote working from home more successful due to better reliability and speed. Silicon Slopes East is touting this fact as much as possible, especially to individuals and companies outside of the area.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Silicon Slopes East monthly events were put on hold. However, on June 30 at 1 p.m., the Silicon Slopes East group located in Carbon/Emery counties is teaming up with Silicon Slopes based in Lehi, Utah to bring a virtual panel discussion centered around targeted development in Coal Country and to promote the fiber infrastructure in Coal Country.
The event will be broadcast from the newly renovated remote-working location at the Business and Technical Assistance Center in Price located at 375 South Carbon Avenue. The panel discussion will be moderated by Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts and CFO Garrett Clark and will feature commercial real estate experts JR Howa from Mountain West Commercial Real Estate and Kyle Roberts from Newmark Knight Frank. Bobby Houston from Intermountain Electronics will also be a panelist and join the discussion around developing and expanding businesses in Carbon and Emery counties.
During the event, the public can watch the discussion and ask questions to the panelist through YouTube Live. Interested persons can register at targeted-development-panel.eventbrite.com or watch live on June 30 at 1 p.m. at https://youtu.be/-CyVLeypRaY.
In addition to the panel discussion, Carbon and Emery counties will be hosting the Silicon Slopes group and members from the Wasatch Front in a familiarization tour of the two counties. Familiarization tours are useful to showcase the counties and give people visiting from more urban areas a hands-on experience of the quality of life in Carbon and Emery counties.
For more information about Silicon Slopes East, please visit siliconslopeseast.com or facebook.com/siliconslopeseast. Interested persons can also contact Jade Powell (435-613-0022) for more information.