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Bernanke, Gates, Busch, McGraw Will Headline Montana Economic Summit In Butte, April 30-May 1

U.S. Senator Max Baucus http://baucus.senate.gov/ today announced that Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Anheuser Busch CEO, August Busch IV, and McGraw Hill CEO, Harold McGraw will headline a fourth statewide Montana Economic Development Summit in Butte on April 30 and May 1.

http://www.montanaeconomicsummit07.org

During a news conference today in Butte, Baucus said he picked the Mining City to hold the fourth statewide economic development conference because Butte is centrally located and the town has a burgeoning high tech industry. Montana Tech of The University of Montana will host the event on its campus.

Baucus organized the first-ever statewide economic development summit in Great Falls in 2000. He held another summit the following year in Great Falls and again in Billings in 2003. Each Summit attracted more than 1,000 people, including economic development leaders from across the state and nation.

The Montana Economic Development Summit is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “innovation” and will explore ways to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in Montana and how Montanans can better market their products and ideas.

The two-day conference will include a speech by Gates live via satellite. The Summit will also include break-out sessions focusing on a range of economic development issues, from energy to entrepreneurship to education. Additional speakers and details about the Summit will be announced over the next few months.

“This is all about jobs,” Baucus said. “The Summit is about working together to boost our state’s economy and create more good-paying jobs. We want our kids to be able to stay here and raise their families.”

We all have ideas on bringing more jobs to our state. By working together, we can bring more folks to the table to forge a road map for Montana’s economic future.”

As in past summits, the ideas gathered at the breakout sessions will be given to lawmakers, the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and its Economic Advisory Council.

"It is very fitting to have this year’s Economic Summit on the campus, not only because Montana Tech is the Montana University System campus whose primary role is math, science and engineering, but because it fits very well with Senator Baucus’ congressional program for increasing our competitive advantage which has the potential to do for American competitive advancement what the NDEA program did in response to Sputnik," said Montana Tech Chancellor Frank Gilmore.

As in years past, Baucus said the state’s top elected leaders – Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sen. Jon Tester and Rep. Dennis Rehberg – will be invited to co-host the Summit.

For more information, people are asked to contact Matt Jones at 406-329-3123. http://www.montanaeconomicsummit07.org

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