Our 9th Annual Economic Summit was a success! A huge thank you to the Boise Centre for providing an incredible space for us to come together. BVEP Board Chair, Tom Mortell, opened the event with remarks about why they continue to support BVEP and our mission in the valley. From there Clark Krause and Michael Ballentyne kicked off the event. They highlighted BVEP’s 10-year impact, including the creation of 42 new companies and 10,872 jobs in the region. They also shared some of our recent successes, such as Exyte Regional HQ, DFS, EXYTE, NEHP, Famco, Kaitech, and Tractor Supply Company.
Next, we welcomed Jessica Flynn from Red Sky PR back to the stage, as our amazing and dynamic MC for the afternoon. A special shoutout to Jess for flawlessly emceeing this event and keeping our event moving! She introduced our first panel, “Building Boise and Beyond”, moderated by Tommy Ahlquist, CEO of Ahlquist. We had the pleasure of hearing from Brett Myron (Petra), Joe Jackson (ESI), Matt Blandford (Anderson Construction), and Jeremy Barber (HC Company). They shared insights about their companies and roles in the construction industry, discussed their opinions on tariffs and supply chain management, and concluded the panel by addressing challenges in our current labor and workforce.
We then heard from our second panel of the afternoon, “Creating Champions.” This panel was moderated by Neil Nelson, President and CEO of ESI Construction, and we had the opportunity to hear from Stacy Dragila, Angela Taylor, and Douglas Tobin. We got a little glimpse into their professional history, and how they got to where they are today. Each successful as athletes or coaches, they continue to build and train athletes right here in the Boise Metro. As Neil concluded the discussion, each panelist shared their future projects and ongoing initiatives in the Treasure Valley area. If you are interested in learning more, please follow the links below.
Angela Taylor: iWIN Sports Game Changers Gala
Douglas Tobin: Contact – byrds
Thank you to all our speakers, moderators & event emcee for your knowledge, inspiration and impact on this community! A special note to our Presenting Sponsors TOK Commerical, ESI & Ahlquist for their support of this event! We hope to see you next year for our 10th Annual Economic Summit!
