Denver Mayor Hickenlooper and Colorado State Business Dean to Discuss Economic Development at Forum March 3

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado State University’s dean of the College of Business, Ajay Menon, will headline an Economic Development Forum Breakfast March 3. Menon and Hickenlooper will discuss the $2.3 billion impact direct marketing has had on Denver’s economy.

The Forum Breakfast, co-sponsored by Colorado State’s Continuing Education program and the Rocky Mountain Direct Marketing Association, will run from 7:15-9:45 a.m. at the Adam’s Mark Hotel and Resort in Denver. The breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. with registration and will run until after 9:45 a.m. with a question-and-answer session.  

The Forum Breakfast will identify the increasing capabilities and potential for the development of additional direct marketing companies and services, as well as examine how direct marketing money leaves the city or state because of lack of resources. In addition, attendees will increase their awareness business opportunities within Denver’s direct marketing business infrastructure.

Participants will be given the opportunity to better understand the size and scope of  direct marketing in Denver by examining the size of the direct marketing in terms of dollars spent, sales, number of employees and comparative metrics. Participants also will glimpse the future of direct marketing regionally as well as locally, explore risk mitigation practices and learn how to employ the five "best practices" of direct marketing.

Mayor Hickenlooper, a successful businessman before he was mayor, understands the challenges entrepreneurs face and will offer valuable insights. He opened the first brewpub in Colorado, the Wynkoop Brewing Company, in 1988 and eventually owned six additional Denver restaurants. Hickenlooper also won the National Trust for Historic Preservation Award and was a member of the Small Business Administration’s "Wall of Fame."

Menon’s work on environmental marketing has been listed among the top five most widely cited articles on environmental issues in business. The American Marketing Association Summer Educator’s Conference awarded Menon’s paper the best overall in 1999.

In addition to Menon and Hickenlooper, other speakers include Joel Appel,  president of Orange Glo International; Cathy Finlon, CEO of McClain Finlon Advertising; Peter Cobb, co-founder and vice president of marketing and merchandising of eBags.com; Paul Reilly, president and CEO of Mail-Well, Inc.; and Orvel Ray Wilson, motivational speaker and author known for his "Guerilla" series of seminars and workshops. The speakers make up a team of experts who will explain why there is reason to believe the year 2004 will be a breakthrough year for Colorado.  

The cost is $30 for RMDMA members; after Feb. 23, members pay $35. The cost for nonmembers cost is $45.  

For more information, contact Colorado State University Continuing Education at (970) 491-5288 or visit www.learn.colostate.edu.

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