The two-day Tennessee Valley Corridor National Technology Summit wrapped up on Thursday at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset with a panel discussion on “Connecting the Valley for New Job Creation,” featuring guest panelist Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center.
Lawson joined co-panelists Greg Jones, executive director of Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED), an affiliate of The Center; and Ray Moncrief, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer for Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, for a look at how each agency is working collaborative to shape the economic development future of Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
The session was led by panel moderator Jerry Rickett, president of Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and a Tennessee Valley Corridor board member.
More than 200 government, educational, and energy leaders met this week at The Center for the Summit, which focused on “Promoting America’s Energy Security.”
U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) welcomed guests to the event during Wednesday’s opening ceremony in The Center’s North Exhibit Hall and was one of the guest speakers at a catered dinner later that night at The Center.
The Summit is the latest in a series of events that have strategically linked the technology-rich Tennessee Valley Corridor—from North Alabama through East Tennessee into Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina and Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
The Center last hosted the event in November 2004, when then-U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge served as the keynote speaker.
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