Rural supplier conference kicks off Friday
Boeing exec to be keynote speaker
By Barry H. Hendrix Contributing Writer

Charles Allen

Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day said Monday that the city's Industrial Development Board would announce Friday a new industrial prospect for the city at the third annual "Rural" National Supplier Conference. He would not reveal the name of the prospect at Monday's city council meeting. Day also hinted that there might be a second prospect announced at the event.

The City of Thomasville and The Boeing Company will host Friday's supplier conference, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Thomasville campus of Alabama Southern Community College. "It's going to be a great day for Thomasville," the mayor said.

"Great attendance, networking opportunities and extremely good support from the Thomasville community are three of the most positive features about the event," said David Brock, a past conference attendee and small business specialist for NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. "Conference planners are very attentive to fostering the type of information exchange between businesses, the community as well as government officials to help generate opportunities."

Gov. Bob Riley, and U.S. Representatives Jo Bonner and Rep. Artur Davis along with other dignitaries are expected to speak at the conference. The keynote speaker will be Charles H. (Chuck) Allen, vice president and general manager of Boeing Rotorcraft Systems.

"We are thrilled with the ongoing support shown each year by our state officials as well as other agency heads," Mayor Day said. "This conference would not be possible without our partnership with the Huntsville Business Community, including Marshall Prime Contractor Supplier Council, who will conduct back-to-back presentations followed by a question and answer session for our conference participants."

Mayor Day also reported Monday that a ceremony will be held Friday at 10 a.m. to announce that one of the conference partners, has donated almost 100 computers (a $100,000 total value) to be split between Thomasville Elementary School, Thomasville Middle School and a computer lab located in the old city hall building. "It's a phenomenal project," the mayor said of the "Project Tree" program. "We're giving our children more access to technology."

The National Small Business of the Year (actually a Thomasville business) and the National Minority Owned Small Business of the Year (also an Alabama business) will also be recognized at Friday's conference. Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration will be on site in Thomasville.

Conference attendees can visit with approximately 28 exhibitors as well as get valuable information from a state, local and federal resource room. Exhibitors-to-date include: ATK Thiokol, Aviation and Missile Command - Red Stone Arsenal, Boeing, Computer Sciences Corporation, Chickasaw Nation Industries, All Points Logistics, Jacobs Engineering, NASA, Northrop-Grumman, Pratt- Whitney Rocketdyne, Raytheon, SAIC, Aetos Systems, BAE Systems, Muskogee Metal Works, The Hancock Group and UIDA Business Services.

Cost to participate in this year's conference is $20. For more information on sponsors, exhibitors and registration visit www.thomasvilleal.com or call Judi Clark, Thomasville Development and Planning, at 1-334-636-5675.

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