Celebrating 25 Years of Progress with Utah Rural Summit

Published: July 31, 2012 | Read Time: 3 minutes

“Celebrating. . . the Next 25 Years of Rural Progress” is the theme for the 25th annual Utah Rural Summit, scheduled for Aug. 9 and 10, 2012, at the R. Haze Hunter Conference Center on the campus of Southern Utah University.

“We are celebrating the silver anniversary of the Utah Rural Summit, which we hope has played a beneficial role in rural Utah and the quality of life we enjoy,” said Wes Curtis, executive director of Regional Services and the Utah Center for Rural Life at SUU, host of the Summit. “As we focus on important topics such as economic development, demographic challenges, natural resources, agriculture, and leadership issues, we will also explore how these issues will affect rural Utah in the next 25 years.”

Keynote presentations by Governor Gary Herbert and Jack Schutlz, author of “Boomtown USA,” will headline the Summit agenda, along with an appearance by Utah Jazz play-by-play announcer Craig Bolerjack. Other guest speakers will discuss economic opportunities through creativity and innovation, Utah demographics from the 2010 Census, leadership skills, and other rural issues during the two-day annual focus on rural life in Utah.

Additional speakers include Robert Lang, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Mountain West, and Glenda Humiston, California director of rural development for the U.S., Department of Agriculture.

The 2012 Rural Honors Awards will be presented during general sessions each day.

Breakout sessions will include an update on the Rural Utah Economic Gardening Pilot Project, a presentation by the U.S. Economic Development Administration highlighting successful rural Utah EDA-assisted projects, an update on statewide demographic change and changes across the western United States, and the potential impact of those changes on rural Utah presented by the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget.

A pre-Summit workshop and field tour highlighting regional planning of the Zion Canyon Corridor Committee is also available on Aug. 8. The ZC3 tour will run from LaVerkin to Zion National Park, including the corridor communities of Virgin, Rockville and Springdale.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival offers discount tickets for Rural Summit attendees. A $4 discount is available for any show on Aug. 9 or 10 for patrons who book online using the coupon code RURAL. For families traveling to the Summit, $15 tickets are available for the 2 p.m. performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor on Aug. 9. Use the coupon code FAMILY when booking online. All USF online bookings can be made at bard.org.

In addition to SUU, sponsors include the Utah School & Institutional Trust Lands Administration, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Utah Center for Rural Life, , Rocky Mountain Power, Utah State University Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, and Questar Gas.

Registration cost is $106 for the full conference or $53 for one day of conference sessions. To register, call 435‐586‐7738 or visit utahlinks.org/urs/. Summit attendees are encouraged to register in advance by phone or Internet as the registration fee increases to $175 the day of the conference.

Registration for the pre-Summit ZC3 field trip is limited to the first 20 participants. The cost of $10 for lunch can be paid the morning of the trip. To register, contact Tom Dansie at 435-772-3434 or dcd@infowest.com before Aug. 3.

Exhibitors may rent space on a first‐come, first‐served based. Booths cost $100; they are limited to 10 by 8 feet. 

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Contact Information:

435-586-5400
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