January 31, 2008

Directions 2008: an up-beat look @ Greater Reno-Tahoe

Yesterday the One-Two Crew went to Directions 2008 hosted by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada–of which our CEO, David LaPlante, was recently elected to the Board of Directors– and the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce. It was held at the Convention Center, and we found no rhinoceros droppings left over from the Safari Club International expo of last week. Not sure why that would have been an issue, but one of the presenters expressed his concern…

Nevertheless, this conference was all about the future of economic development in Reno and Sparks, how it is tied to local, regional and national transportation policy, and renowned economists making cheesy jokes while sharing their optimism of the future. During intermission Earl Spriggs, our videographer/video editor, and I went around the exhibit hall asking attendees for their thoughts on these issues and what they thought of Greater Reno-Tahoe.

It was encouraging to hear RSCVA CEO Ellen Oppenheim talk about the cool things going down in town to enhance tourism and our local quality of life, like the minor league baseball park planned for downtown Reno.

Also, RTC Washoe’s Executive Director, Greg Krause, had some really encouraging things to say about the future of local transit policy with respect to alternative transportation modes like bikes, walking and mass transit. RTC Washoe is doing a lot to help with their Smart Trip programs run by Carol Perry.

The outlook from the speakers was far from the lugubrious accounts coming from the media. Though the residential housing market is doing poorly, Jeff Threadgold, President of Threadgold Economic Associates, pointed out that it only represents 5% of the national economy. Since much of the rest of the economy is doing well, the negativity was blamed on the media by most of those speaking. Not THIS, the TRADITIONAL media… (that’s the kind of media which would never mention pachyderm spoor in a business article.) “The world is not falling apart,” agreed Dr. Eugenio J. Aleman, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, during a panel discussion lead by former local TV news anchorman Tad Dunbar.

As usual, it was great to see Chuck Alvey, President and CEO of EDAWN. He and Doug Kurkul, CEO of RSCC, closed the show with the top 5 business issues for 2008, so I figure it’s a good place for me to close too.

#5 Continued workforce issues and skilled worker shortages.

#4 Education funding shortfall.

#3 Statewide budget cuts.

#2 Tied for second place are: Presidential election and transportation infrastructure.

#1 Residential housing market.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and watch the video. We’d love to hear what you think. Were you there? Did we miss something? What do you think 2008 has in store for Reno and Sparks?

Thanks to EDAWN and RSCC for putting on the show, and thanks to all the sponsors! Thank you also to those who took the time to comment for the video. It was great talking to you!

-Mike

Posted in Nevada, Podcast, Reno-Tahoe, Social, Travel & Tourism