TVC Summit to focus on entrepreneurism in five-state region

Posted at 9:40 am May 23, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Howard Baker at Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in 1995

Former Tennessee Senator Howard Baker addresses the first Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit held in Oak Ridge in 1995. (Submitted photo)

The registration deadline is quickly approaching for the annual Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit, which will make its first visit to Cookeville on June 1-2. The Summit, themed “Where Entrepreneurs and Technology Meet,” will be held on the campus of Tennessee Tech University , and it is hosted by TTU President Phil Oldham in cooperation with Tennessee Congressman Diane Black.

Leaders from throughout the region will be at the event to focus attention on the vital role entrepreneurs provide in turning the brain power and technologies from the region’s universities and federal programs into new business start-ups and the expansion of existing businesses.

Main speakers scheduled for the event include:

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann,
Congressman Marsha Blackburn,
Bechtel National Senior Executive John Howanitz,
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Todd May,
Oak Ridge Associated Universities President Andy Page,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director of Industrial Partnerships and Economic Development Tom Rogers,
UCOR President Ken Reuter,
former Chancellor of the University of Alabama System Malcolm Portera,
President/CEO of Launch TN Charlie Brock,
Associate Vice President for Research and Vice President of UT Research Foundation at the University of Tennessee Stacey Patterson,
Vice President of Stakeholder Relations at the Tennessee Valley Authority Joe Hoagland,
Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Earl Gohl,
President/CEO of the Center for Rural Development Lonnie Lawson, and
many others.

The Summit will include two main sessions—the first session will focus on entrepreneurship in the Corridor, including the unique approaches to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in our more rural areas best exemplified by the efforts of Oldham and the Upper Cumberland’s regional partners. The second session will look at how the region is leading the nation in key areas including science, national security, space, environmental cleanup, and manufacturing. These updates will highlight the region’s major centers of federal investment in Huntsville, Oak Ridge, and Tullahoma and give attention to TVC’s progress in advanced manufacturing particularly in the automotive industry.

For more information, to register to attend the TVC Summit, or to become a sponsor, visit www.TennValleyCorridor.org or email Jennifer Wiggins at [email protected]. Registration closes Wednesday, May 25.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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