Economic Summit Shows Great Prospects for Montana’s Economy

Courtney Gordon
  From Ireland to Los Angeles to Japan to China and many other places all over the world, speakers were very enthusiastic about their relationship with Montana.


In times like these, communities need this enthusiasm and determination to help them through hard times in the economy.

  In the recent years, there have been problems with job availability, overuse of energy, and companies collapsing. But, after listening to many of the speakers that were present at the 2010 Economic Summit, I have a new found faith that the economy, especially Montana’s economy will soon be uplifted by new technologies, ideas, innovations, and job opportunities. Just to give you an idea of some of the brilliant minds that were present at the summit: Senator Max Baucus, Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft), Warren Buffet (Chairman and CEO of Berkshire hathaway), Jeff Immelt (Chairman and CEO of General Electric), Barry Diller (Chairman and CEO of IAC, Chairman of Expedia, Inc. and Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment), and even Bob Iger (President and CEO of Disney).


   During the two days of the summit, you were hard pressed to find anyone downtrodden over anything the speakers said. Although Montana may have somewhat small population, it has great trading prospects and looks as though it will only be getting better. During the various speeches, people were given the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. Questions ranged from questions of future technology in energy, to loan opportunities for people with new ideas, and even to one woman who had the guts to request that Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft give her business card to Bill Gates himself. You might be surprised to know that the answer to that last question was yes; not only was the answer yes, Steve even gave his e-mail address to her and encouraged her to remind him of her request to ensure the Gates will get the message. One of the most interesting speeches to watch was the one with five ambassadors from Chile, China, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand. They each spoke about their time here in Montana and their hopes for future trade relationships with not just the United States, but Montana specifically. The ambassador from Chile even said “you bring your beef and we’ll bring our wine,” showing that not only is he interested in importing beef from here, but also exporting Chile’s goods to Montana. The ambassador from Chile wasn’t the only one of them interested in trade though, all five of the ambassadors were very interested in strengthening their country’s trade relationship with Montana. Unfortunately the ambassador from Ireland was unable to extend an invitation because of the trade restrictions between the United States and Europe at this time. All of the speakers from the U.S. were very interested in helping with job opportunities and many were interested in further developing energy use and other technologies.

The 2010 Montana Economic Summit is proof that there are many people that are interested in improving the economy. Don’t lose your faith and determination in these hard times, just reach out and find a resource that’s available to you. For more information on the summit you can visit the official website: www.montanaeconomicsummit.org