Our Presenters and Their Topics for This Year's Summit

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Bob Dixson, Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas: Tragedy to Triumph How a Kansas town, destroyed by an F5 tornado in 2007, used innovation to re-identify and reinvent itself into a totally green, energy sustainable, world class model city. Bob Dixson will discuss how the disaster forced citizens to fully examine who they were and what values they represent in order to build a viable economic base at the same time. Even when there's been no natural disaster, many cities suffer from the lack of identity and values. Bob shares the lessons learned in the rebuilding experience that apply to every one of our Southeast Kansas cities and towns.

Toby Lavine: World Class Company - The Innovative Approach In today’s economic times, we are all facing higher costs and global competition. Business levels which once were routine, now take great effort just to sustain. How does an organization find growth in the midst of a constantly changing global economy mixed with an explosion of new technology, internet and social media?

Praveen Gupta: The Nuts and Bolts of Innovation Innovation has been talked about everywhere. Now, people are interested in learning to innovate to make an impact in their personal life as well as community. This session is designed to get people started to think, create and innovate. At the end of the session all participants will have their BIG idea to build on or pursue.

Dr. Nathan Mellor: Increase Profit/Build Teamwork with Innovative C3 Model Successful organizations are those who are able to consistently perform at the highest levels. The C3 program provides leaders a practical approach to developing a culture of Character (C1) and Competence (C2) which results in Consistency (C3).

Dr. Daniel Barwick: The Role of the Community College in Encouraging Innovation Dr. Barwick explains why the community college, as the community's convergence point between ongoing workforce development, public education, and quality of life initiatives, should be the driver of innovation in the workforce, in education, and in the community.

Andy Livingston: Energy from Biomass - Innovated by Necessity Developing process applications for manufacturing torrefied biomass products and end-users’ benefits that impact global markets. (And all of this right here in Southeast Kansas.)

Innovative Cultural Collaboration: The Greensburg Theater Project How organizations can work together to improve quality of life, create cultural and tourism events and GROW COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS. The William Inge Center for the Arts of Independence, KS, Cornerstone Theater of Los Angeles, CA and the 5.4.7 Arts Center of Greensburg are combining efforts to tell the story of how ONE SMALL community WORKS TOWARD REBUILDING IN THE FACE OF DISASTER.

Expanding Your Market with eCommerce Many in business today realize that the Internet can and should provide a larger piece of their revenue stream. Although it is easier than ever to prepare and initiate an online store, the path to successful e-commerce is full of pitfalls and potholes. In this conversational discussion, Tom and Andy share how they have each learned to deal effectively with the same issues most of us will encounter

Jason Moore and Tiffany Horsley: Innovative Tips to Reduce Workers Comp Costs While Increasing Safety In this session, we'll discuss some innovative methods you can use to reduce the cost of your workers compensation insurance while improving safety levels at the same time. We'll also cover the difference between workers compensation requirements and OSHA requirements with practical tips on calculating your workers compensation rates.

Innovation for Main Street This session will introduce techniques and resources to learn about new consumer trends and use them to stimulate new ideas to better serve your customers. Like panning for gold, you'll discard many new ideas until you find real gold; an idea that will lead to increased business and more profits in your pocket.