Southern Utah University hosts this annual gathering of rural Utah leaders each August. The Utah Rural Summit, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2012, is administered and presented by SUU's Office of Regional Services and the Utah Center for Rural Life at SUU.
Planning for the special 2012 Silver Anniversary Utah Rural Summit, August 9 & 10, is well underway, and it promises to be an event that anyone interested in Utah's rural communities, economies, issues and opportunities will not want to miss!
will include keynote speakers:
Additional keynote presentations are being added to the agenda, so please check this Website for further information as it becomes available.
This year's Summit will include four separate Breakout Session Tracks:
Economic Opportunity Through Creativity and Innovation, with sessions to include an update on the Rural Utah Economic Gardening Pilot Project, a panel moderated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration highlighting successful rural Utah EDA-assisted projects, and a joint presentation by the Governor's Office of Economic Development and the Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative.
Demographic Change and the Future of Rural Utah--Revelations from the 2010 Census, with topics ranging from rural Utah and statewide demographic change presented by the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget, to demographic changes across the western U.S. and the impacts on rural Utah, to a joint session by the Director of the Utah Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service and chair of Utah State University's Department of Applied Economics reporting on ag statistics and trends.
Leadership for the Future, will spotlight the skills needed for today's and tomorrow's rural leaders as well as highlight examples of positive leadership already in action across rural Utah. (Thanks to the Rural Community Assistance Corporation for their support of and participation in this Track!)
And the always anticipated Natural Resources & Agriculture track, with special sessions by Alan Matheson, the Governor's Environmental Advisor, Kathleen Clarke, Director of the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office, Dr. Robert Gillies, Director of the Utah Climate Center, and Commissioner of Agriculture & Food, Leonard Blackham.
Additional sessions within these Tracks will be announced on this website, and a full agenda will be posted soon.
New this year will be pre-Summit workshops and field tours on Wednesday the 8th. The workshop on communication skills for leaders presented by staff and students from Southern Utah University's Leadership Engagement Center will occur in the same venue as the Summit, SUU's R. Haze Hunter Conference Center. The tentative field tour will highlight the regional planning accomplishments of the Zion Canyon Corridor Committee (ZC3) through a vehicle tour of State Route 9 from La Verkin to Zion National Park, including the corridor communities of Virgin, Rockville and Springdale. Final details and registration information for both the communication workshop and ZC3 field tour will be added to this website as soon as it is available.
And don't miss this year's Rural Honors Awards, always a special part of the Summit!
For more information, to inquire about being a speaker, or to reserve your vendor or exhibit booth space, visit the official Utah Rural Summit website or contact Kathleen McDowell at Mcdowell@suu.edu or 435-586-7738.
We look forward to seeing you at the Utah Rural Summit--Where Rural Utah Meets!
