Texas Midwest Conference Chooses San Angelo for October Conference

SAN ANGELO, TX — The theme of the 26th Annual Texas Midwest Conference to be held on October 30th at the McNease Convention Center in San Angelo is "We Are Rural: Cultivating, Innovating, Collaborating!."" The conference features solution seminars providing city leaders, economic development professionals, chamber representatives and high school students with information to better prepare for challenges member communities face today and in the future.

The Conference Keynote will be Julian Alvarez III, Commissioner of Labor with the Texas Workforce Commission. Commissioner Alvarez will share data on the current labor market in Texas and our region as well as insights into the diverse programs available through the TWC to afford rural students and employers the opportunity to build successful careers and businesses.

A number of regional and statewide experts will provide information into some of the most challenging community aspects facing small communities today – broadband accessibility, housing, workforce development and training, career focused education, code enforcement and blight removal, lead generation and entrepreneurial development. Additional breakouts will take a closer look tourism and marketing through the lens of community art and film and music friendly communities designations.

The Awards Luncheon will include the recognition of the original steering committee of communities who gave birth to the TMCN organization: Abilene, Albany, Anson, Breckenridge, Brownwood, Coleman, Haskell, Merkel, Munday, Sweetwater and Winters. Program facilitators Kevin Tutt and Mike Daggs of Tutt & Daggs will recognize the community projects completed by the 2019 Leadership TMCN Class and assist in the presentation of scholarships to the top three projects. This year’s projects include those from the communities of Anson, Baird, Breckenridge, Early, Gorman, Haskell, Munday and Snyder.

The Texas Midwest Community Network is the only regional organization of its kind in the state and the Annual Conference is the only one-day event in the region providing access to numerous agencies, organizations and businesses that provide resources and services to small communities. The most valuable aspect of the conference is the networking among the organization’s fifty-one community representatives as they share successes as well as the best practices used to overcome local challenges.

Attendance at the conference is open to all community leaders including city and county officials, economic development practitioners and board members, chamber of commerce representatives and their members, civic volunteers, healthcare professionals, school officials and high school students. Estimated attendance is 250. FMI and registration visit www.tmcn.org, follow us on Facebook at TexasMidwest, or call 325-795-8626.