Colorado State, Northern Colorado Economic Development Offices to Issue Economic Forecast Oct. 4

Note to Editors: Media interested in attending the economic summit should contact Emily Narvaes Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 no later than Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Northern Colorado is not immune to a contracting national housing market, uneasiness in global financial markets and mixed signals from consumers that have led to great uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook.

Martin Shields, regional economist for northern Colorado, will discuss these trends in his 2008 economic forecast at the first Colorado State University Regional Economic Summit and Forecast in Fort Collins on Oct. 4.

The event will be 1-5:30 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, 350 E. Horsetooth Road, Fort Collins. Registration is open at www.oed.colostate.edu/economicsummit through Sept. 27. Cost to attend the summit is $49.

The summit is co-hosted by the Colorado State University Office of Economic Development and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp., which collaborate to promote economic development in northern Colorado. Business, education and government leaders will be in attendance at the event to hear from Shields as well as CSU President Larry Edward Penley and industry leaders in the area of health care and clean energy.

Maury Dobbie, chief executive officer of the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. will open the summit at 1 p.m.

Other program highlights:

1:10 p.m. – Penley will discuss the university’s role in economic development.

1:30-2 p.m. – Shields will give his 2008 Northern Colorado Economic Forecast.

2:35 p.m. – Health care panel, moderated by Shields: Rulon Stacey, president and CEO of the Poudre Valley Health System; Rick Sutton, CEO of McKee Medical Center and Dr. Mark Wallace, commissioner, State of Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform.

3:45 p.m. – Clean energy panel, moderated by Hunt Lambert, director of the CSU Office of Economic Development: Kevin Cory, Vestas Blades America; Marty Murphy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Pascal Noronha, AVA Solar Inc.; Professor Stephan Weiler, College of Liberal Arts.

4:45 p.m. – Economics of regionalism panel, moderated by Dobbie: Bill Becker, Adams County Economic Development Inc.; Tom Clark, Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

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