2014 Economic Summit Feb. 13 to Feature the Economic Impact of West Texas Oil & Gas on Brown County

The Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce and TexasBank are pleased to announce that registration for the 2014 Brownwood Area Economic Summit is currently underway. The event will be held on February 13 at Howard Payne University’s Jackson Room in the Paul & Jane Meyer Leadership Center on Center Avenue from 7:30AM to 10 AM.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Thomas Tunstall, Research Director at the Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He will present his study, “The Economic Impact of West Texas Oil & Gas” with an emphasis on Brown and surrounding counties. He was the principal investigator for a similar study done in 2012: the Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale.

In addition, attendees will hear from Luke Legate, a consultant with the Joint Oil & Gas Education Initiative Association. He will discuss how businesses are affected by a large influx of oil and gas production and specifically, how Brownwood/Brown County businesses can position themselves to benefit from the increased oil and gas production.

Of local interest, the Brownwood Board of Realtors will discuss real estate trends. Recent sales tax and employment trends, analysis and forecast will be provided by the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation.

The presenting sponsor will be TexasBank. Gold sponsors are the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation and Prudential Moseley Real Estate. Silver sponsors are 3M Company, Brown County Abstract Co., Brownwood Industrial Foundation, Mills County State Bank and Texas State Optical. Corporate table sponsors include the City of Brownwood, Howard Payne University, Julia Taylor CPA and Texas State Technical College.

Breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 8 AM, with the program from 8 to 10 AM. Cost of the Economic Summit is $15 until January 30 after which the cost will be $25 per person—prices slightly higher for non-members. For more information or online registration, go to the Chamber’s Calendar of Events: www.brownwoodchamber.org or call the office at 325.646.9535.