Sitka was the host city for the Southeast Conference annual meeting the week of September 16th. However, the conference fell on the same dates as the Energy Council meeting so I wasn’t able to be there. Every year I look forward to attending the Southeast Conference fall membership meeting but even though I couldn’t make it this year, my staff attended and reported back to me. I was told that it was a very productive, well attended conference and the presentations were all very useful and informative. The conferees received updates on energy and economic development projects throughout the Southeast region such as hydro, mining, timber, mariculture, fisheries and the maritime industry just to name a few. I appreciate the contributions from all the public and private sector presenters who helped to make this conference a success.
For those who are not familiar with Southeast Conference, it is a nonprofit corporation that advances issues of importance to our region. Their meetings are a great way to bring communities, policymakers, and business leaders together to discuss ways to move Southeast Alaska forward.
Two resolutions were approved during the conference, one supporting the Alaska Mariculture Initiative (spearheaded by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation) and another establishing a Regional Broadband Taskforce for Rural Southeast Alaska.
I’d like to thank the Southeast Conference staff, the board of directors, and the City and Borough of Sitka for organizing another great conference.
Anyone interested in viewing the presentations, along with the approved resolutions from the conference can do so by visiting the Southeast Conference website at: http://www.seconference.org/annualarchive#sitka2013
On the last day of the conference, my staff visited the Blue Lake Dam construction project.
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