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Semitool Owner, Ray Thompson, to Address Montana Chamber of Commerce Business Days in Helena on Jan 14-15.

Straight from the headlines, Semitool http://www.semitool.com/ owner Ray Thompson will explain the changes at his company as the keynote speaker for the banquet during Business Days at the Capitol 2010 (BD@C’10) in Helena. The event runs Jan. 14-15, with the banquet the evening of the 14th.

Semitool was just acquired by Applied Materials as a subsidiary of their SSG group in the last few weeks. Thompson will explain what that means for Semitool and Montana. He will keynote the “Legislator Appreciation Banquet” during the Montana Chamber’s annual Business Days. His talk is titled “Pioneering Technology in Montana.”

Born in Iowa, Thompson lived in Kalispell from age 4-16, when his parents moved to Santa Monica, California. He founded Semitool in 1978 and moved the company and his family back to Kalispell in 1979. During the next 30 years, Semitool grew to be a multinational company with offices worldwide, employing 1,600 at one point. Semitool went public in 1995 and at the end of 2009, was purchased by Applied Materials.

Business Days at the Capitol is the State Chamber’s largest annual event, bringing business people from all over the state to Helena to address issues that impact business and the economy 24/7/365.

BD@C’10 starts at Noon, Thursday, Jan. 14, with the opening luncheon and “State of Business” address by Montana Chamber Board Chair http://www.montanachamber.com and Blue Cross CEO, Sherry Cladouhos. The afternoon offers seminars and sessions ranging from energy development and work comp to MSU Family Business seminars. The banquet will feature Thompson and recognize winners of the Fall 2009 semester of the High School Business Challenge, a program of the Montana Chamber Foundation.

Friday, Jan. 15 starts with the “Eggs & Issues” breakfast with legislative leaders discussing current business issues. More programs on health care, election/fiscal projections, and international trade. Governor Brian Schweitzer has been invited to be the concluding luncheon speaker. All events will be held at the Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel.

The following sponsors join the Montana Chamber in bringing you BD@C’10 – BlueCross BlueShield of Montana, Liberty Northwest, Montana State Fund, and NorthWestern Energy.

For further information, contact Leah Weaver at 888-442-MONT (6668) ext. 102 or [email protected]. Details and registration are also available online at http://www.montanachamber.com.

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