With its reputation as one of the richest and long-lived mining boomtowns in history, Leadville, Colo., is a logical setting for mining communities to come together and learn from each other about how to survive the boom-and-bust economies typical of mining towns. That’s exactly what will happen Oct. 1 – 4, at the Sixth Annual National Summit of Mining Communities. The Summit, which began in 2006 as a grassroots gathering of people from mining towns with the emphasis on “communities talking to communities,” was created in recognition that many mining communities experience the economic pitfalls and opportunities associated with the boom and bust cycles of mining.
“Based on feedback from participants of other summits, we’ve made the sessions more discussion friendly, and increased the number of sessions that focus on the ‘how-to’s’ of community success stories,” says former Leadville mayor and originator of the summit, Bud Elliott.
Headline presenters this year include The Heartland Center for Leadership Development and Purdue University Center for Regional Development. These renowned organizations will teach participants how to apply tools and strategies to help their communities work together more effectively, build upon local assets, and engage with constituency groups that are vital in making communities competitive in a global economy.
“The discussions are not only about current issues and challenges, but also about past success stories that arose from adversity. The synergy of sharing achievements and solutions to these common issues that face every mining community will make all our communities stronger and will help mining communities turn challenges into opportunities, and adversity into success stories,” added Judy Green, one of the event organizers.
The conference format is a series of presenters and panels from mining communities who will talk about how they have dealt with such issues as environmental remediation, preservation of mining heritage, economic impacts, recreational tourism and regulatory impacts. During the sessions there will be time for comments and questions. The schedule and online registration is now be available at www.nationalsummitofminingcommunities.com
