Container Port conference attracting much interest

Community Futures week continued at the Daily News, as for the second day in a row a project being organized by Community Futures of the Northwest found itself on the front page of the Daily paper.

Tuesday’s story involves the upcoming Change Brings Opportunity Conference, which is being planned and promoted by Community Futures of the Northwest and is set to take place on November 8 and 9 at the Lester Centre of the Arts. So far 240 people have registered for the two day event.

It has become a much anticipated event in the area as a number of guest speakers have been lined up to bring their expertise on containerization to the Northwest and give local residents a better understanding of how transportation works in the world and the impact it could have on the Northwest.

In the front page story on Tuesday, Maynard Angus of Community Futures outlined the expectations for the conference and what local residents might learn over the course of the two days.

BOOM IN ASIA, CONTAINER PORT DRAWING BIG CROWD
Conference about opportunities on the horizon has a wide appeal
By Leanne RitchieThe Daily News
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Page One

The organizers of the Change Brings Opportunity Conference are hoping to see more than 300 people come together to explore opportunities related to the Fairview Container Terminal.

Maynard Angus, general manager of the Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest, said that as of last Wednesday, they had 240 people registered for the two-day event.

The conference is being held, he explained, to identify opportunities that are related to the construction of the container terminal and the rapid growth currently happening in the Asian markets.

“We’ve got some really high end speakers to talk about these opportunities,” said Angus.

“We are hoping these speakers will address this boom in China and how it will help people here.”

The Change Brings Opportunity Conference will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8 and 9, at the Lester Centre of the Arts in Prince Rupert.

The conference brings together a distinguished lineup of speakers from across North America, who will brief participants from Prince Rupert and the B. C. /Alberta Northwest corridor region on the latest developments related to the expansion of the container port. The conference is being held to identify opportunities and purpose strategies for expanded entrepreneurship, employment and exports.

The agenda will allow time for delegates’ questions and answers, discussions with presenters, networking and a tour of the construction site of the new container port facilities, which is expected to open in the fall of 2007.

“We have also put out invitations to the college and high school students to bring a further awareness – you don’t have to think about leaving because there will be opportunities here,” said Angus.

So far, they have people registered from Tacoma, Seattle, Edmonton, Kamloops, Vancouver and Alaska.

One presenter is David Fung, Chairman and CEO, ACDEG International, who will speak on export opportunities created by the new container port. Fung has investment partnerships in North America, Europe and Asia through strategic alliances in forest products, biomass energy, chemicals, electrical power cogeneration, OEM parts manufacturing and packaging wastes recycling.

Another presenter on the list is George Stalk Jr. senior vice president and director with the Boston Consulting Group, who has actively lobbied for larger container port expansions. He will talk about the global context in which the Prince Rupert container port will operate.

Stalk’s practice is focused on creating unassailable competitive advantage. He has consulted for a variety of leading manufacturing, technology and consumer products companies throughout North and South America, Europe and throughout Asia and is the author of several books, including The China Rip Tide: Threat or Opportunity?.

Also on the list of distinguished speakers is Frans van Riemsdyk, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Maher Terminals. He will address Prince Rupert’s strategic location from a port operator’s perspective.
For more information, contact Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest.