OEDA 2011 Fall Conference
September 25th – 27th
The Hallmark Resort - Newport, Oregon

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Monday
Opening Session

The Fleet Arrives in Newport ...The NOAA Project

Speakers:  Captain Wade Blake, Commanding Officer, NOAA Marine Operations Center and Port Manager Don Mann, Port of Newport

On August 20th, the NOAA Marine Operations Center – Pacific dedicated its new facility at the Port of Newport.  The fleet will literally arrive at the brand new docks which will accommodate up to 6 large research vessels.  Captain Blake, Commanding Officer, will share the story of winning this contract and tell us what the fleet does year-round in the Pacific Ocean.

Presentation by Don Mann [click here] for PDF.

Presentation by Wade Blake [click here] for PDF.

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Session 1

The Fleet
Oregon Wave Energy

Speakers:   Jason Busch, Executive Director, Oregon Wave Energy Trust

Wave energy is one key part of the comprehensive alternative energy solution for Oregon. And thanks to a combination of unique characteristics, it is the only source of energy where Oregon enjoys such a clear competitive advantage. As a result, Oregon’s wave energy industry provides myriad opportunities to deliver significant economic benefits to the state. The Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) is one of six Oregon Innovation Council initiatives supporting innovation and long term economic growth.  Find out what OWET is doing to support and find opportunities for Ocean Renewable Energy in Oregon.

Ports of Call
Is Your Community Ready for a Data Center?

Speakers:   Melissa Hunting, Business Development Specialist, Portland General Electric; Keith Dines, VP Development, Digital Realty Trust; Erik Andersson, Economic Development Manager, Pacific Power

The development of information technology centers, or data centers, by some of America’s most recognizable businesses – Amazon.com, Facebook, and Google – has created a lot of excitement in Oregon. Other businesses are interested in locating facilities in Oregon, and communities of all sizes are in the competition. Larger projects often require infrastructure of a magnitude that limits the areas they can consider. Climate, neighboring industry and incentives may also play important roles in the decision making process. This panel will feature site selection, utility and local government representatives in an open discussion about what typically drives these location decisions and how communities can be best prepared to meet the needs of a prospect business.

Presentation by PGE [click here] for PDF.

Information on Data Terms presented by Digital Realty Trust [click here]

Presentation by Keith Dines, Digital Realty Trust [click here]

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Session 2

The Crew
Industry Based Certifications:
Validating Worker Skills Against Workplace Requirements

Speaker:  Audrey Theis, Key Links, Inc.

The new currency in the marketplace is nationally-portable, skills certifications developed by industry to reflect real-time workplace requirements. Learn about several national skills certification initiatives in manufacturing, energy and “green” that are sweeping the nation – what these mean for the companies you work with and how Oregon is beginning to get connected.

[click here] for presentation.

The Fleet
Oregon Wave Energy – Push to Commercialization 

Speakers:   Jason Busch, Executive Director, Oregon Wave Energy Trust

Seven years ago, Oregon proved its intent to lead the nation in the development of ocean energy by funding the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET). This year, the first full-scale commercial buoy will go into the water off the Oregon coast, and several developers are on the ground studying project feasibility. We’ve never been closer to commercialization.  Meet some of the Oregon companies that are demonstrating the industry’s newest technologies, products and services.

Ports of Call
Is the Right Story Being Told About Your Site?

Speakers:  Dan Kapral, Director-Advanced Technologies; and Michael Marx, Project Manager, The Harris Group

Discover how site-specific attributes play a major role in choosing what industries and companies proactively pursue your community and increase your success rate.

[click here] for presentation.

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Monday
Lunch Keynote

Economic Development and Identity: How to Leverage Story
for Lasting Economic Improvement 

Speaker:  Michele Reeves, Principal, CIVILIS Consultants

Technology allows companies to escape the tether of place and locate wherever they want.  Retail districts can reshape themselves over a few short years.  Whole industries can disappear in what seems like a moment.  At the end of the day, economic development is about managing change, and to do that successfully, cities must look beyond recruitment and clustering and also consider efforts that help strengthen existing businesses, as well as encourage new ones to form.  Creating an environment that fosters continual economic growth requires a clear and authentic Civic Identity, which helps to pinpoint a place’s assets and is a required forerunner to engaging branding and marketing.

[click here] for presentation.

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Session 3

The Fleet
Site Selection:  Is Your Community Ready? 

Speakers:  Jill Miles, National Recruitment, Business Oregon; Bruce Laird, National Recruitment, Business Oregon; Charlie Mitchell, Economic Dev. Director, City of La Grande and Dan Start, Exec. Director, Union County

Is your community ready for site selectors?  Jill Miles and Bruce Laird, national recruitment specialists for Business Oregon, conducted a mock site selection visit with the City of La Grande and the Union County Economic Development Corporation. Find out how they prepared, what they learned and the lessons that you can apply to your own community.

[click here] for Presentation.

Ports of Call
The Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority:  Today and Tomorrow

Speakers:  Lynn Schoessler, IFA Director; Jim Ruef, Program Services Manager and Jim Zelenka, Regional Services Manager

In communities around the state there is renewed interest in developing and improving local infrastructure.  The Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA) strives to coordinate the delivery of infrastructure financing to Oregon communities and to better collaborate with local partners. The IFA’s grants, loans and technical assistance help communities provide cleaner and safer drinking water; compliant wastewater systems; better roads, main streets and utilities; and improved social facilities for their residents. This session will provide an overview of the IFA and an update on the programs and funding available for community projects. There will also be an opportunity to discuss specific economic development project interests with IFA staff.

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Session 4

The Fleet
Cluster Development in the 21st Century: Lessons from Across the U.S. 

Speakers:   Lee Munnich, State and Local Policy Program, University of Minnesota; George Fletcher, South Carolina Council on Competitiveness; Carlos Martinez-Vela, John Adams Innovation Institute; and Elizabeth Redmon, Cluster Strategy Consultant, Oregon Business Council

Moderator:  Jeremy Rogers, Oregon Business Council

Since Harvard Business School’s Dr. Michael Porter popularized the concept of “industry clusters” in 1990, many regions have created economic development programs to both measure cluster competitiveness and support organic cluster growth. Through the Cluster Mapping Project, the U.S. EDA is working with Harvard Business School to gather region-specific data on the presence of clusters and better understand best practices for facilitating, supporting and promoting regional industry clusters to drive job creation.

[click here] for George Fletcher, South Carolina presentation.

[click here] for Carlos Martinez-Vela
Strengthening the Massachusetts Innovation Economy

[click here] for Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Regional Cluster Initiative

[click here] for Elizabeth Redmon, Cluster Strategy Consultant, Oregon Business Council Presentation

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Tuesday
Breakfast Keynote

Bio-Fuel in Oregon

Guest Speaker: Dr. Hiroshi Morihara, President, HM3 Energy, Inc.

Biomass energy, specifically torrefaction technology, is the next big thing.  This energy dense, water resistant briquette product directly replaces coal in coal-fired power plants, creates thousands of family wage jobs, greenhouse neutral gas, clean burning fuels without toxic mercury and sulfur emissions. There is enough sustainably available forest waste and agricultural residue to provide feedstock for 20 torrefaction plants in the Pacific Northwest. 

OEDA Year End Report and Election of Officers

Speaker: Erik Andersson, OEDA President

[click here] for presentation

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Session 1

The Fleet
Accessing Oregon, Inc.

Speakers:   Janet Teshima, ONAMI; Gary Stinson, Microchip Technology and Tony Chen, Portland State University Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanofabrication (CEMN)

Microchip recently took advantage of ONAMI’s First Time Users Grant program.  Their goal was to become familiar with the characterization services provided by Portland State’s CEMN and to assess whether the quality and turnaround time provided would meet their Semiconductor Fab support needs.  Gary will talk about his experience to date and how he plans to use the facility in the future.

Tony Chen worked closely with Gary Stinson to make sure that Microchip’s experience with his laboratory was positive.  Tony will talk about the capabilities at the CEMN shared user facility and how he is developing relationships with local industry.

Ports of Call
All Marketing Minds on Deck! (Part 1)

Speakers:   Allison Larsen, Principal, Chabin Concepts/Competitive Ready; Mary Bosch, Principal, Marketek, Inc.; and Krista Hildebrand, Vice President/Managing Director, Frause

How can you better position your community to grab the attention of your target audience and communicate your intended message?  Bring your marketing challenges and questions to this session for creative solutions you can implement immediately.

[click here] for presentation

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Session 2

The Fleet
TEAM Oregon – Who’s On Board?

Speakers:  Jill Miles, National Recruitment, Business Oregon

Team Oregon is a public-private partnership between Business Oregon and local economic development organizations to cooperatively market Oregon as a great place to move or grow a business. The Team Oregon concept has been successful in its initial work targeting Clean Tech industries, and now the state and OEDA are investigating opportunities in other industries. This session will provide an overview of the Team Oregon concept and its activities to date, highlighting its planned calendar of activities for 2012. There will be specific discussion around opportunities in value-added agriculture and natural products industries, with Business Oregon working in partnership with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and OEDA to develop a calendar of events in which local economic development organizations can take part. What a great way to leverage limited marketing budgets to promote Oregon and your community to new potential employers!

[click here] for presentation

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Tuesday
Lunch Keynote

Speakers: Scott Nelson, Jobs and Economy Policy Advisor, Office of Governor John Kitzhaber and Representative Jefferson Smith, House District 47

The 2011 Oregon Legislative Session adjourned on June 30, 2011. While the session, like those in 2009 and 2010, was dominated by the lingering effects and impact of the global economic recession, it also provided an opportunity for unprecedented coordination between OEDA, the Oregon Business Council, Business Oregon and the Governor Kitzhaber’s Office around common economic development priorities. So where do we go from here? Scott Nelson, the Governor’s Jobs and Economy Policy Advisor, will share his insights on recent successes and future opportunities, closing the annual conference with a nod toward the Governor Kitzhaber’s economic development priorities for the 2012 Special Session and beyond and touching on the Governor’s Regional Solutions Centers being developed across the state. Representative Jefferson Smith will also be on hand to provide an update on Grow Oregon, the implementation of the Economic Gardening Task Force initiative to support small and medium sized businesses. This discussion will provide a great way to end the 2011 Annual Conference by looking towards the future.

[click here] for presentation.

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2011 OEDA Awards of Excellence Presentation

[click here] for presentation

[click here] for Press Release

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OREGON BUSINESS
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