10th Annual National Economic Gardening Conference

Rogers City staff and the Presque Isle County Staff participate in the local economic development community, as such, we want the public to understand important economic development issues.  Therefore, we want you to know about and, if possible, attend the 10th Annual National Economic Gardening Conference, sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and its Pure Michigan Business Connect team, this June 12 – 13 in Grand Rapids.

This annual conference will give participants the chance to engage in national dialogue on economic gardening with some of the movement’s leading experts and practitioners including Chris Gibbons, co-inventor of economic gardening, and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

Additional presenters include:

• Carl Erickson– President of Michigan-based software product development company Atomic Object
• Michael A. Finney – President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)
• Rob Fowler – President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan
• Fran Korosec – Director of client services for The Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL) at the University of Central Florida
• Mark Lange – Executive director for the Edward Lowe Foundation development organization

Detailed information about the conference can be found here. For updates, announcement and news follow #NEGC12 on Twitter.

Space is limited. Register by April 30, 2012 for the early bird registration fee of $150 per person. Between April 30 and June 11, registration will be $175. To register, visit here.

If you want to car pool to this event contact me at mslown@rogerscity.com

Improved Business Climate

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) reports:

Improved Biz Climate Brings Jobs

Michigan’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent in March – down from 8.8 percent in February -- with total employment increasing by 21,000.

“The bold reforms made to Michigan’s business climate by Governor Snyder and the Legislature are working,” Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Michael A. Finney said. “We are reinventing our state in a way that works better for everyone and moving forward with a new economic certainty that is very attractive to investors and businesses making new location and investment decisions.”

The unemployment rate for March is the lowest since August 2008 and marks eight straight months of improvement.

Finney said that all that’s happened here of late is catching the nation’s attention. Michigan’s new, competitive business tax has propelled the state’s corporate tax ranking to seven from 49 in the nation and overall tax rank to 12 from 18.

Confidence that Michigan is on the right track helped to create 80,000 private-sector jobs in the state last year. Newsweek ranked the state No. 1 for job growth in August, Bloomberg ranked Michigan’s economic health second in the nation and CNN called Detroit the next Silicon Valley. In February, the Federal Reserve projected Michigan on track to lead all other states in job growth over the next six months.

Rogers City is prepared to participate in Michigan's Economic growth.  If you want to find a great small town with plenty of economic opportunity, look no further.  Check out the "bright future" in Rogers City.

Business-to-Business Online Network

The following is a posting from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC):

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for a business-to-business online network application, which will be branded under the Pure Michigan Business Connect (PMBC) economic gardening initiative, has been issued. This project will result in a directory of Michigan businesses and a procurement marketplace where Michigan businesses may post procurement opportunities available for other Michigan businesses and, conversely, the participating businesses may themselves look for and find opportunities posted by other companies. Company participants may also use the system as a business-oriented social network whereby companies can communicate between each other directly and as self-designated groups or clusters.

The RFP can be found at the following link:  http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Public-Notices-Requests-for-Proposals/Pure-Michigan-Business-to-Business-(B2B)-Connect-Request-for-Proposal/

Thank you,

Mandy Rossman  /  Partner Relationship Manager
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
desk: (313) 456-3034 / cell: (517) 862-7324  /  fax: (313) 456-3021

email: rossmanm@michigan.org