Got Local? Get on Board

January 19, 2009 by Mary Ellen

Several organizations, including the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance – AIBA – attended The Mayor’s Economic Summit last week. Roundtable organizers planned the event to identify new and innovative collaborations and potential partnerships.

What happened?

The ambitious agenda invited discussion on five different types of collaboration: technology/sustainability based development, small business initiatives, workforce education and training initiatives, community based development initiatives and regional collaboration opportunities.

In addition, Dr. Lee Reynis, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at the University of New Mexico, presented a “State of the City” report on Albuquerque’s economic status. Her comments set the stage for a sobering, realistic discussion about next steps.

For its part, AIBA urged local spending, noting that dollars spent locally circulate more often and support more services than do those spent with national chains. The group scored a specific by inviting those present to accentuate the positive and participate in the third annual February “I Love Albuquerque” event. The contest, sponsored in part by Local i-Q, is open:

Tell us what you love about your town in 25 words or less!
Submissions can be in any format poetry, prose, pithy comments, limericks, haiku, or whatever you come up with.
Send your entries (limit two per person) via e-mail to contest@local-iQ.com.
Hard copy entries can be mailed to:
I Love ABQ Contest
Local iQ
PO Box 7490, ABQ, NM 87102

Big Prizes for “Quirkiest,” “Most Romantic” and “Best of Show.”