CBIA Business Conference Set For September 7 In Rocky Hill

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) will hold “The Connecticut Economy ’00,” a half-day conference, on September 7 at the Marriott Hotel in Rocky Hill.

The morning keynote speaker will be James Smith, chairman and CEO of Webster Bank and chairman of the Governor’s Council on Economic Competitiveness and Technology. He will give an overview of the council’s efforts and the direction that Connecticut must take to stay competitive in the new century.

Joseph Bronzino, the Vernon Roosa professor of Applied Science at Trinity College and director of Beacon, will deliver the luncheon keynote address.

 Three concurrent panel discussions with some of the state’s business leaders will examine strategic transportation issues and assets, technological and training issues, and challenges for economic development. There will be an economic outlook panel with Rae Rosen, senior economist and officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Edward Guay, principal of Wiltonbury Risk Management. Bruce Blakey, corporate economist for Northeast Utilities System, will moderate the discussion.

Conference attendees also will be the first to hear the results of the 7th Annual CBIA/Arthur Anderson Survey of Small and Midsize Connecticut Businesses, a strong barometer of attitudes and concerns among the majority of the state’s businesses.

The conference will be held from 7:30 am until 1:30 pm. The cost is $75 per person for companies that are sponsors of the event including CBIA, the Hartford Area Business Economists, and the University of Hartford; $100 for non-members. Tables of 10 are available for $700. To register, contact CBIA at 860/244-1900.