Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Tupelo conference next month is designed to help manufacturers and other businesses better compete in a changing global business environment.
Taking place May 18 at the BancorpSouth Convention Center, the event is sponsored by Mississippi State's Franklin Furniture Institute and College of Business' Technology Resource Institute, along with the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Importing, government regulations and labor issues will be among several major topics covered.
To begin at 9:30 a.m., the conference is the first in a series of events planned this year by the university units. The $50-per-person admission includes lunch and conference materials.
"Industry representatives, economists, suppliers, and public policy analysts will discuss and debate the true cost of importing furniture components, from the supply issues to the impact on local economies," said director Bill Martin of the Franklin Institute, a research and service arm of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center.
Chris Byrd, senior human resource manager at the Greenwood-based Viking Range Corp., will present the keynote luncheon address. "Survivor 2010: Recovery in a Recession-ridden Reality" will be his topic.
Also on the Tuesday program will be Bill Simmons, managing principal of Dutko Worldwide, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm; and Beth Herman, regional director of Manpower International.
Simmons will provide updates on proposed federal regulations, including "cap and trade," the Employee Free Choice and Lacey acts, formaldehyde standards, and health care. Herman will cover strategies for dealing with structural shifts of the labor force.
"The business environment continually is changing," Martin said. "How a company reacts, adapts and adjusts, both internally and externally, will determine its future success."
To register, click Strategy 2010 at www.ffi.msstate.edu. Otherwise, contact Amy Garrard at 662-325-8453.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.