I am just returning from a very exciting, very productive and very tiring week in Las Vegas at the 2012 Reservation Economic Summit (RES). RES is Indian Country’s largest business development gathering and this year’s theme was Indigenous Economic Globalization Now.
The speakers were interesting, the program was relevant, and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development was a great sponsor.
But the biggest reason to go to RES is the personal connections you make. This week I learned about several new projects that can use our recent NMTC allocation. These are connections I never could have made over the phone. The ability to shake hands and share stories starts these new partnerships off on the right foot. It is impossible to know now how many of these opportunities will come to fruition. But if they do, the fact that the conversation began face-to-face will be an important reason.
If you follow Travois through our website or have seen our emails and press releases, you have gotten to know a lot about us. But our conference at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Casino Del Sol Resort would give us the opportunity to meet in person this September. If you are looking to use tax credits to improve the economic environment in your community, we want to hear your story. Perhaps meeting in person will begin the next chapter in that story of your success.