FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2006

The Conference was held July 14-15, 2006 in two locations - a downtown, small business owned facility (Windsor Hall) in the City of Cumberland- as well as at the FSU campus (Compton Science Center). It addressed the needs of local and regional business service providers, practitioners, consultants, regional faculty, students, and the administrations of the two cities. Diverse organizations and participants representing the cities of Frostburg and Cumberland, Frostburg State University, Allegany College of Maryland, Allegany Arts Council, S.C.O.R.E., Tri-County Council of Western Maryland, Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland State Highway Administration, MicroEnterprise Council of Maryland, among several others from the region came together for the Conference.

The Conference had a strong academic component in the form of:

• A panel discussion on regional quality of life that included FSU faculty from the departments of Biology (Dr. Linda Lyon), Sociology (Dr. Kara Rogers-Thomas), as well as the Appalachian Environmental Lab (Ph.D. candidate Dan Fiscus);
• An invited presentation on expansion of entrepreneurship in the liberal arts and sciences (Dr. Bill Conner, Department of Biology of Wake Forest University - a Kauffmann campus);
• A small business case writing workshop (Jim and JoAnn Carland of Western Carolina University) which was attended by several faculty at the FSU College of Business;
• Competitive papers on regional and technological entrepreneurship presented by faculty from regional institutions (Dr. Dan Singer, Towson University, and Dr. Robert Bonometti, Shenandoah University).
  

Cultural aspects of life in Western Maryland were highlighted at the Conference in the form of:

• A Keynote address and slide show by Albert Feldstein of Maryland Department of Planning presenting a historical perspective on the evolution of businesses and small business owners as well as the architectural history of Cumberland and the surrounding region;
• A poster presentation and demonstration of ancient Chinese artifacts by Dr.Francis Tam (FSU Department of Physics);
• Distribution of musical compositions by FSU music students as well
  as regional musicians;
• A performance of Bluegrass music by the Graves Family Band, West Virginia,
  during the luncheon ceremony on July 15;
• A visit to Bluebell Alpacas, a local working farm representing the element of regional agritourism.

In fulfillment of its mission of recognizing regional entrepreneurial excellence, awards to regional entrepreneurs were made. The First Trident Intiative Model Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Sam Griffith of the National Jet Company in LaVale and Gary and Bill Warn of the Hen House Restaurant in Finzel. The 2006 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Sarah and Bill Teter of Die Monster Games in LaVale.

Based on the feedback received from Conference attendees as well as expressed participant interest in next year's Conference, this was a highly successful event, surpassing our most optimistic expectations. This success has been a catalyst for the development of expanded entrepreneurial and educational development.

We now invite you to review the selection of Pictures from the Conference and the Press Release of our local newspaper, The Cumberland Times-News.