SEDA business conference coming to Yorkton

This month, for the first time, the Saskatchewan Economic Development Association (SEDA) will be hosting its annual general meeting in Yorkton along with a seminar aimed at improving businesses' bottom lines.

"Normally we have our events in larger centres, but we have a membership survey that we put out annually, and we've had numerous comments that our membership would like to see events throughout the province, particularly in rural areas," explains Alicia Curle, project manager with SEDA.At the invitation of the Saskatchewan East Enterprise Region, the first SEDA AGM outside of the major centres wound up in Yorkton.

The event is scheduled for March 17 at the Painted Hand Casino.

Targeted at municipal leaders, economic development personnel, and business owners, the seminar portion of the day is titled "Going Green in 2011": a tagline that refers to profitability rather than environmentalism.

In response to feedback from early registrants, the day's schedule has been scaled back to three speakers from an originally planned lineup of five. The evening banquet has also been canceled, shortening the day enough for distant travelers to attend without needing to spend the night.

The seminar will now open at 11 am with Marc Colbourne of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. Coulbourne will speak on the Welcoming & Inclusive Communities initiative, which aims to promote discrimination-free communities that embrace diversity.

After a catered lunch, keynote speaker Ian Portsmouth, editor of Profit Magazine, will give his address."Ian is working on a session specifically for this event," says Curle. "The name of it is 'Secrets of Success of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies.' He will touch on how you can build a business in any industry and basically under any economic circumstance. So he's going to give some strategies as well as some stories of firms like Research in Motion and WestJet that are growing despite the economic downturn."

"Ian is quite a sought-after speaker, so we're really excited to be able to bring him to Yorkton," she adds.

Celine Favreau will be the final speaker of the day. She will discuss Saskatchewan's Employee Share Ownership Program, which provides incentives to businesses which allow their employees to purchase shares in their own company.

The brief SEDA AGM will wrap up the afternoon. Attendees can register for the event online at www.seda.sk.ca.Going Green in 2011 and the SEDA Annual General Meeting are organized in partnership with SEER, the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce, the Yorkton Chapter of Saskatchewan Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs, and Tourism Yorkton.