San Juan 2000 Economic Development Association is planning an Oct. 24 economic summit at Silverton Town Hall.
The theme of Economic Summit 2008 will be Mountain Towns Pre-Summit tours, networking dinner and keynote reception will be Thursday evening, Oct. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m.
On Friday, Oct. 24, four panel discussions will be presented about mountain micro-enterprise and employment, running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This gathering may be the first-ever dedicated to mountain town micro-business,” said Karen Hoskin, director of San Juan 2000. “We have a lot to learn from the impressive efforts and successes of small businesses in Colorado mountain towns. Their owners and employees are achieving a high quality of life in the mountains, while creating outstanding businesses and re-spending their earned dollars within their communities. This event will explore how we expand this type of growth in our mountain towns.”  
Last year, San Juan 2000 sponsored a summit of similar format on affordable, attainable and workforce housing in small mountain towns, which was attended by 70 people from all over the state.
“We hope to apply this format and achieve a similar success this year,” Hoskin said.
The goal, Hoskin said, is to conduct an insightful discussion about the ways in which small mountain towns in Colorado (especially those with seasonal and ski tourism-based economies) can better understand, attract, recruit, develop, staff, support and retain micro-business.
The pre-conference micro-business tour is free. The networking dinner is $15. The summit opening reception and keynote address is open to the public, free of charge.
For the Friday sessions, fees are $30 for individuals, $25 for students, and $65 per business or organization (up to three attendees.
Sponsorship opportunities are available.
“We anticipate  about 70 attendees, including mayors and elected officials from small Colorado mountain towns including Silverton, micro-business owners, economic development stakeholders, prospective entrepreneurs, business students, and many others,” Hoskin said.