COOKEVILLE — A laundry list of speakers has been named for the 2016 Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) Summit, which will bring together more than 300 community, academic and government leaders from a five-state region to Tennessee Tech University to talk technology and entrepreneurs.
The Summit, scheduled for June 1-2, will focus on the role entrepreneurs’ play in turning the brainpower and technologies from the region’s universities and federal programs into new business start-ups and the expansion of existing businesses. The theme is “Where Entrepreneurs and Technology Meet,” and the event will be hosted by Tennessee Tech University President Dr. Phil Oldham in cooperation with Congressman Diane Black.
The Summit will include two main sessions – the first session, hosted by Andy Page, president/CEO of Oak Ridge Associated Universities, will focus on entrepreneurship in the Corridor, including the unique approaches to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in our more rural areas best exemplified by the efforts of Oldham and the Upper Cumberland’s regional partners.
The second session, hosted by Tom Jones, general manager and partner of Algood’s Research Electronics International (REI), will look at how the region is leading the nation in key areas including science, national security, space, environmental clean-up and manufacturing. These updates will highlight the region’s major centers of federal investment in Huntsville, Oak Ridge and Tullahoma and give attention to TVC’s progress in advanced manufacturing particularly in the automotive industry.
Speakers for the event include:
- Dr. Phil Oldham, president, Tennessee Tech University
- Congressmen Diane Black, Chuck Fleischmann and Marsha Blackburn, with more confirmations from the TVC Congressional Caucus expected in the coming weeks
- Earl Gohl, federal co-chair, Appalachian Regional Commission
- Charlie Brock, president/CEO, Launch Tennessee
- Joe Hoagland, vice president, stakeholder relations, TVA
- Dr. Malcolm Portera, former chancellor of the University of Alabama system
- Tom Rogers, director, industrial partnerships and economic development, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- John Howanitz, general manager, nuclear security & operations, senior vice president, Bechtel Nuclear, Security & Environmental
- Ken Rueter, president and project manager, UCOR
- Lonnie Lawson, president/CEO, Center for Rural Development
- Dr. Angeline Godwin, president, Patrick Henry Community College
Sponsorship opportunities for the event are available. Contributing sponsors include 2:45 Tech, Roane State Community College and the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce; and supporting sponsors include AerospacePark at Tri-Cities Regional Airport TN/VA, ATC Automation, Cadre5, Energy Huntsville, First National Bank of Tennessee, Highlands Economic Partnership, Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc., Research Electronics International, Suntrust, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD).
The Tennessee Valley Corridor’s Leadership Council includes CNS Y-12, Appalachian Regional Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Tennessee Tech, UCOR and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
For more information, to register to attend or to become a sponsor, visit http://www.TennValleyCorridor.org or email jwiggins@akinsps.com.
