MIDDLETOWN—Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus has announced that the county will be holding its first-ever Economic Summit on Friday, Sept. 30th at SUNY Orange in Middletown. The theme of the 2022 Orange County Economic Summit that will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will be “Positive Growth and Infrastructure: Progress Today and Planning Tomorrow.”
The Economic Summit will bring together key stakeholders, including elected officials, government administrators, community members, civic leaders, and the business community to discuss key issues, trends, obstacles, and future concerns related to Orange County’s continued economic growth.
Regional experts will share their experiences about their respective areas of knowledge. The four economic development panels include: Water, Wastewater and Commercial Development; Understanding Economic Incentives; Utilities, Energy and Digital Infrastructure; and Transportation = Business and Commerce.
“We must continue the county’s economic momentum and build upon our recent successes; as smartly planned growth, strong infrastructure, commercial expansion and job creation are the keys to our county’s future,” Orange County Executive Neuhaus said. “I am excited that Orange County’s first Economic Summit will provide a great opportunity for all businesspeople, public officials and community members to learn about the importance of infrastructure as it relates to positive economic development and job creation.”
“The 2022 Economic Summit will feature regional professionals offering valuable insights about the importance of infrastructure as it relates to smart progress, economic expansion and creating employment opportunities,” said Orange County Director of Economic Development Steven M. Gross. “Orange County has a tremendous economic development success story and with strong infrastructure there are many chapters yet to be written.”
The summit’s keynote speaker will be Gus Scacco, Chief Investment Officer and CEO of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, which has offices in Goshen and White Plains. Scacco will address the important connection between infrastructure, investment and economic growth. His presentation is scheduled for 9:20 a.m.
The program will begin with opening remarks from Orange County Executive Neuhaus, Economic Development Director Gross and SUNY Orange President Dr. Kristine Young.
The event will split into two breakout sessions at 10:30 a.m. The first session is entitled “Water, Wastewater and Commercial Development.” Moderated by the Orange County Partnership’s Conor Eckert, the panel will feature: Mary Beth Bianconi of Delaware Engineering; Kelly Turturro of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Alan Sorensen of the Orange County Planning Department; Sandy Mathes of Mathes Public Affairs and Steve Gagnon of the Orange County Health Department.
The second session entitled “Understanding Economic Incentives” will be moderated by the Orange County Partnership’s Maureen Halahan and will include panelists Bill Fioravanti of the Orange County IDA, Tom Scaglione of Empire State Development and Dr. Young of SUNY Orange.
Attendees will then have the option to attend one of two breakout sessions that begin at 11:30 a.m. One session entitled “Utilities, Energy and Digital Infrastructure” will be moderated by the Orange County IDA’s Fioravanti and will have panelists Adam Bosch of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, Michelle Hook of Danskammer Energy, Tim Smith of Crown Castle and Ryan Hawthorne of Central Hudson.
The second breakout session is entitled “Transportation = Business and Commerce” and will be moderated by Mike Fleisher of Brown & Weinraub. The panelists will be Amanda Dana of Orange County Tourism & Film, Sorensen of the Orange County Planning Department and Erik Denega of the Orange County Public Works Department.
The event is free of charge; however, pre-registration is required. Registration is being handled in conjunction with the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, visit www.orangeny.com. For more information, please see the official event brochure on the Orange County website at www.orangecountygov.com.
