Released April 15, 2009
BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Glacial Lakes Dakota Rising Group will host a June 17-19 entrepreneurship conference at Fort Sisseton State Historic Park near Lake City.
The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service is one of several entities supporting the 2009 Economic Gardening Conference.
Speakers from around the world will take part, including Christian Gibbons, who invented the term "economic gardening." The term refers to nurturing local business growth. Gibbons has been a leading innovator in the field since the late 1980s.
Registration for the conference is $150 for those registering between April 18 and June 3, and $175 for registration after June 3.
The conference Web site with details on the event is available at this link: http://econ-gardening2009.web.officelive.com/default.aspx.
The conference also has its own page on Facebook. To join it, visit this link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=70651229385.
Registration costs include meals, materials, and tours associated with the conference. The Web site includes information about presentations, activities, and links to lodging options in the area.
Extension Community Innovation & Leadership Educator Darah Darrington, one of the event's organizers, said the conference is a great opportunity for community leaders to gain insight on strategies for "gardening" in their towns and cities.
"We have a phenomenal group of speakers," said Darrington. "We have speakers from universities and cities across the U.S. It will be a top-notch conference for anyone with an interest or career in economic development."
One of the featured speakers also will talk about the roles that local, public, and university libraries can play in providing research services to an economic gardening project, as well as other ways that communities can integrate the research component.
For additional information, call Extension Community Innovation & Leadership Educator Darah Darrington at (605) 448-5171, or e-mail her at Darah.Darrington@sdstate.edu.
-30-
http://agbionews.sdstate.edu/story.cfm?id=4693
Contacts: Darah Darrington, (605) 448-5171
Jarett C. Bies, (605) 688-4642, Jarett.Bies@sdstate.edu
