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NEWS RELEASE

12-09-03

Contacts:
Robin Habeger, College of Business, (515) 294-6611
Lisa Schorzmann, SBDC, (515) 576-0099, Ext. 2732
Kevin Brown, News Service, (515) 294-8986

BLOUIN TO SPEAK AT IOWA BUSINESS SUMMIT JAN. 7-8 IN FORT DODGE

AMES, Iowa -- Michael Blouin, director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, will be the guest speaker Wednesday, Jan. 7, at an Iowa Business Seminar in Fort Dodge titled "Strategy Summit: Reaching New Heights." Blouin's seminar is titled "Iowa: Open For Business"

Rebecca Ryan, president of Next Generation Company, Jackson, Wis., will be the keynote speaker on Thursday, Jan. 8. Ryan is well known in Iowa for "Generation X" and young professional research. Ryan consults nationally with communities and companies about attracting and retaining young professionals.

The two-day summit will be on the Fort Dodge campus of Iowa Central Community College. Cost for the conference (including meals) is $145 until Dec. 14; $175 after that date.

In addition to the keynote speakers, the summit will feature presentations by Iowa State University's College of Business faculty members; a session on change as a strategic advantage by Michael Wagner of Wagner Speaks, Des Moines; and a presentation from the Small Business Administration on how the federal agency can assist Iowa businesses.

The summit will focus on business strategy and how to improve competitiveness. It will explore issues such as employee motivation, absenteeism and turnover; marketing and customer retention; strategic management, change and succession planning; supply chain and quick response manufacturing; and project management and the implications of using the Internet in a business.

"This conference will provide attendees with the current business information organizations need from entrepreneurs to large corporations," said Robin Habeger, director of the Business Partnership Development Program for the College of Business at Iowa State and co-organizer of the summit.

Iowa State's Business Partnership Development Program, the Iowa Small Business Development Center at Iowa Central, and the Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership sponsor the summit.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.bus.iastate.edu/BPDP/execed/summit/default.asp or contact Lisa Schorzmann, director of the Iowa Small Business Development office at Iowa Central Community College, 515-576-0099, ext. 27, or by e-mail at schorzmann@triton.iccc.cc.ia.us.

The Iowa Small Business Development Center is an outreach unit of the Iowa State's College of Business.

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