MEDA conference addresses the future

March 25, 2007

ABERDEEN, Md. - Two of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's top cabinet secretaries will be featured speakers at the Maryland Economic Development Association's (MEDA) Spring Conference, "Groundwork for the Future."

The conference will feature issues related to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

The conference will be held Wednesday, April 11, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center in Lexington Park, St. Mary's County, Md.

Secretary of Business and Economic Development David W. Edgerley will review his direction for the department in the keynote speech at 12:30 p.m.

Earlier in the day, Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari will focus on the new administration's transportation priorities in his presentation at 10:30 a.m.

The conference also will feature two panels that will focus on the growth expected in Maryland later this decade as a result of the BRAC process.

At 9 a.m., attendees will hear from a panel of experts who learned valuable lessons from Southern Maryland's rapid growth in the mid-1990s, as a result of an earlier BRAC round

Panel members will include Del. John L. Bohanan Jr.; Gary V. Hodge, Charles County Commissioner; Todd B. Morgan, vice president, Eagan McAllister Associates Inc.; and Timothy S. Smith, director, Technology Systems & Business Solutions LLC.

At 11:15 a.m., another panel will focus on how the private sector can capture incoming investments and deal with increased competition as a result of the BRAC-related growth.

Panelists will include Joanne P. Evans, senior business development manager, SAIC; Gino Gemignani Jr., senior vice president, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.; James Mirabile, director BRAC Initiatives, BGE; and Catherine W. Ward, senior vice president, asset management and leasing, Corporate Office Properties Trust.

Cost of the conference for MEDA members is $65 and for nonmembers is $80. That amount includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

Those wishing more information, or to register, may visit the organization's Web site at www.medamd.com.

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