University News
Tri-State Procurement and Economic Development Summit March 23; Training for Government Contracting Best Practices, Local Economic Development
March 2, 2016
MACOMB, IL/KEOKUK, IA — Business owners in western Illinois, southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri will soon have an opportunity to hear about economic development initiatives within their communities via the Tri-State Procurement and Economic Development Summit, which is set to take place in Keokuk later this month.
According to Mary Turner, program manager at the Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, key agencies have come together to form a coalition to provide training to business owners and help them learn about government contracting best practices.
The Tri-State Procurement and Economic Development Summit will run from 8 a.m.–noon, Wednesday, March 23 at Keokuk High School (2285 Middle Road Keokuk) and is open free to the public; however, pre-registration is required. (Pre-register online at http://bit.ly/1jKu4gx; check-in and networking will begin at 7:30 a.m. March 23.)
In addition, the Keokuk Chamber of Commerce will host an optional industry tour of the Keokuk Waterworks, which will begin at 1:30 p.m., following the training summit. The tour is also open free to the public, but requires pre-registration.
"We have arranged this forum to provide one-stop access to educational sessions geared toward business improvement and government contracting programs available," Turner explained. "Attendees will have the opportunity to build networks with regional and federal government procuring agencies and increase their awareness of community and economic development initiatives, which may be valuable to their businesses."
The panel will feature representatives from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Missouri and Illinois procurement technical assistance centers, Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce, small business development centers of Iowa and Illinois and the Lee County Economic Development Group.
For more information, contact Beth White at (563) 370-2166 or via email at whiteb@iastate.edu. Online registration is available at http://bit.ly/1jKu4gx.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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