The Event 2010

Breakfast Keynote - Senator Robert F. Bennett

Serving his third term as a U.S. Senator, Robert F. Bennett serves as counsel to Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, advising him on legislative strategy and policy priorities.

Bennett got his start in politics by managing his father's U.S. Senate reelection campaign in 1962. He used his leadership skills and lessons learned from working as a staffer on Capitol Hill to become a successful entrepreneur including Franklin Covey which under Bennett's leadership, the business grew from just four employees to more than 1,000 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In the Senate, he serves in many leadership positions including senior member of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the Joint Economic Committee. He also serves as the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bennett works to balance fiscal discipline in government while representing the needs of Utah in the distribution of federal funds. In the 111th Congress, Senator Bennett is focused on getting the economy back on track and cutting down the nation's debt by reforming social security and health care.

Senator Bennett is a graduate of the University of Utah, where he served as the student body president. He and his wife, Joyce are the proud parents of six children and 20 grandchildren.

Lunch Keynote - Governor Gary R. Herbert

Gary Richard Herbert is Utah's 17th Governor. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Jon Huntsman from 2005 to 2009. Shortly after taking office in August 2009, during one of the most challenging fiscal periods in its history, Governor Herbert declared his priorities for the state: Economic Development, Energy, Education and Infrastructure.

Governor Herbert was born in American Fork and raised in Orem, Utah. While attending BYU, Mr. Herbert met and married Jeanette Snelson, from Springville. Shortly after their marriage, Mr. Herbert joined the Utah National Guard and served for six years as a staff sergeant working with target acquisition, artillery, and ground survey.

After his military service, Mr. Herbert began a career in the real estate industry, founding Herbert & Associates Realtors, a brokerage firm based in Orem. He and his wife, Jeanette, also began a child care service, The Kids Connection, which they operated for 23 years.

In 1990, Mr. Herbert was elected to the Utah County Commission, a position he held for 14 years. During his time as county commissioner, he served as presidents of the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah Association of Realtors, and as a board member of the Provo Orem Chamber of Commerce and Utah Water Conservancy District.

Governor and Mrs. Herbert have six children and nine grandchildren.

2010 Workshops

Commercial Real Estate:
The commercial real estate breakout session will feature a statistical roundup of current conditions for the local market presented by Craig Morley and Stan McConkie, followed by a panel of commercial Real Estate professionals who will add their insights and respond to questions from the audience. The session will also allow for "one on one" interaction with real estate agents from Commerce and Tonaquint Properties, Inc.
Garden Room

Internet Marketing with Fizz
Utah based Orangesoda.com is one of the nation's fastest growing web marketing companies focused on bringing customers to small businesses. Jay Bean, the founder and CEO of OrangeSoda, Inc., is responsible for guiding the company's strategy and growth. Bean will show how even a small advertising budget can maximize online presence through deploying search marketing and optimization platform.
Sunbrook A & B

Small Business Finance "Show Me The Non-Traditional Money"
Extremely tight access to capital and finance opportunities greatly constrict economic growth. St. George Chamber of Commerce President Russ Behrmann will moderate a panel of financing experts who will show how some companies might benefit from unconventional programs such as the ARRA bond funding.
Sunbrook C

Strategic Planning for Tough Alternatives
Organizations of all types need clearly defined strategies in order to focus their limited resources on the investments and actions that can have the greatest impact on their success. That said, many organizations fail to make the tough choices in their strategies or fail to revisit and update their strategies when important factors change. Presenter Curt Roberts, USTAR North Utah Director and former Vice President of Global Strategy for Nike, Inc., will present critical principles that lead to good strategic choices with case examples and exercises to help you better lead strategy within your own organizations.
Entrada A

Water Development "Show Me The Water"
How much "wet" water has the county currently developed? How much more can be developed within the county? What about the elephant in the room; the Lake Powell Pipeline? Learn the answer to those and many other questions about the "life blood of Dixie" from water district personnel Corey Cram and Barbara Hjelle.
Entrada B & C

Demographics and Economics "It's the Economy, Dixie"
In past years, Washington County shone as one of the primary jewels of Utah expansion. However, the most recent recession dulled the county's 24-carat gold status dramatically. What lies ahead for Washington County and where is it on the road to recovery? This outbreak session offers straight talk about the local, state, and national economies. Lecia Parks Langston, regional economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, will outline the county's economic and demographic indicators to reveal the state of the Washington County economy.
Auditorium

St. George Municipal Airport: SGU, Where the Future Takes Flight: Guided Tour
After nearly two decades of planning, studies and financial challenges, southern Utah's largest public works project is about ready for take-off! Planned to open January, 2011, the new St. George Municipal Airport, located five miles southeast of downtown St. George will be five times the size of the current mesa-top airport. It will accommodate jet aircraft to suit the needs of visitors and residents of southwestern Utah well into the future. In this session, Assistant to the City Manager, Marc Mortensen and Airport Manager, Rick Crosman will lead an information-packed tour to the airport site where attendees will gain a greater understanding of the scope and size of the project and see first-hand the new SGU terminal building, runway and taxiway construction.
Dixie Center Main Entry

What's Up Down South Session

What's Up Down South
The "What's Up Down South" session features twelve rapid-fire 5-minute presentations given by businesses and organizations on the verge of major expansions. The presentations will be accompanied by visual aids as well as contact information provided in the Summit Presenter's Book. Southern Utah Title Company will produce the 2009 "What's Up Down South" presentation.
Ballroom

Second Round of Breakout Sessions

Residential Real Estate
Residential real estate has not only been a financial rollercoaster the past few years but also an emotional one as well. This year's breakout session will attempt to identify, in laymen terms, what the next 12 to 18 months might look like in Washington County from a real estate perspective. New this year will be a more in-depth look at the financing component of a real estate transaction. What might we expect the cost of money to be in 2010? Will interest rates remain historically low, or will the feds begin an upward adjustment? Will there be more programs to assist home buyers? Tax Credits? Grants? Incentives? And perhaps most importantly, how can home buyers and home sellers maximize their investments? Many believe the worst is over, and we believe this to be true as well.
Garden Room

What we need now are customers
Once upon a time many of us had "all the business we could handle." All our focus was on expanding production capacity and increasing throughput. So we never had to build a HIGH PERFORMANCE SALES ENGINE. Now we find ourselves in a slowed down economy with plenty of capacity, but NOT ENOUGH CUSTOMERS. All the marketing in the world won't help us rebuild our business if we haven't developed an expert sales team who work bullet-proof processes. Presenter Steve Carwell will show how to solidify sales processes and get more customers.
Sunbrook A & B

Ironman Impact
Washington County is privileged to host the Ford Ironman St. George Triathlon, May 1st, 2010. This elite event, one of just seven Ironman triathlons in the U.S. will bring 2,500 athletes and 10,000 visitors to the area for nearly a week. Based on information from other host communities, this could produce one of the greatest economic impacts the county has seen in a single week. Find out about opportunities that your business can benefit from! Learn about the impact Ironman has had on other host communities, sponsorship and volunteer options, race course logistics, business success stories and ideas for getting involved to create a successful and recurring event for our community.
Sunbrook C

Coaching for Passionate Performance
Engaging leaders know how to boost their team's discretionary effort - extra time and energy employees willingly give to achieve their team's goals...and they have fun doing it! The hardest thing for your competitors to duplicate is the most powerful advantage you have - the Minds and Hearts of your employees! Diana Guetschow's presentation offers practical strategies to help engage your employees' minds and hearts, creating a powerful competitive advantage for your organization.
Entrada A

Is this the Road to Recovery?
Presenter Steven D. Harrop is a Certified Financial Analyst and a Lecturer in Finance at Southern Utah University. He is a graduate of BYU and holds a Master of Management Degree from Northwestern University Graduate School. The only portfolio manager known to have been recognized by Lipper Analytical Services for Performance Achievement in the management of stocks, bonds and money market funds, he is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Heritage Bank and the Investment Advisory Board for Soltis Investment Advisors. Steve will discuss his insights and perspectives of the current environment as well as which indicators to watch over the next 18-24 months.
Entrada B & C

Navigating Legal Potholes in a Recession Economy
Auditorium

St. George Municipal Airport: SGU, Where the Future Takes Flight: Guided Tour
After nearly two decades of planning, studies and financial challenges, southern Utah's largest public works project is about ready for take-off! Planned to open January, 2011, the new St. George Municipal Airport, located five miles southeast of downtown St. George will be five times the size of the current 1,200 acres mesa-top airport. It will accommodate jet aircraft to suit the needs of visitors and residents of southwestern Utah well into the future. In this session, Assistant to the City Manager, Marc Mortensen and Airport Manager, Rick Crosman will lead an information-packed tour to the airport site where attendees will gain a greater understanding of the scope and size of the project and see first-hand the new SGU terminal building, runway and taxiway construction.
Dixie Center Main Entry

Your Power Costs Under Cap and Trade
The U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration are considering legislation that would impose new regulations commonly known as Cap and Trade. As part of the Green movement, they are also encouraging clean energy production as an alternative to conventional energy production. There is a lot of discussion about employment opportunities and increases associated with those proposed changes. Kimball Rasmussen, CEO and President of Deseret Power, a major supplier of electrical energy to southern Utah, will present a detailed insight to the potential economic impacts of Cap and Trade policies, as well as the job market expected to be created by the Green Energy movement. Mr. Rasmussen, a recognized expert on these subjects, has made his presentation throughout the nation.
Snow Canyon Suite

Bonus Sessions

Dixie Pitch Ignitor
For an entertaining way to learn about the angel investing process SEED Dixie presents Dixie Pitch, Southern Utah's version of the ABC television's Shark Tank meets FOX Television's American Idol. Three local early stage entrepreneurs will pitch their deals to a panel of angel investors. After the potential investors ask questions and make comments, audience members will have a chance to vote on the company they think deserves funding. The investors will also declare their choice. In addition, the session will be the official kick-off of the 2010 Concept to Company Contest.
Garden Room

Vision Dixie report
This session is open to the public at no cost and serves as the annual report of the Vision Dixie program. The forum will provide a comprehensive update of the $500,000, two year effort to develop a community led vision plan to help guide the future of Washington County.
Sunbrook A,B,C

St. George Municipal Airport: SGU, Where the Future Takes Flight: Guided Tour
After nearly two decades of planning, studies and financial challenges, southern Utah's largest public works project is about ready for take-off! Planned to open January, 2011, the new St. George Municipal Airport, located five miles southeast of downtown St. George will be five times the size of the current 1,200 acres mesa-top airport. It will accommodate jet aircraft to suit the needs of visitors and residents of southwestern Utah well into the future. In this session, Assistant to the City Manager, Marc Mortensen and Airport Manager, Rick Crosman will lead an information-packed tour to the airport site where attendees will gain a greater understanding of the scope and size of the project and see first-hand the new SGU terminal building, runway and taxiway construction.
Dixie Center Main Entry