2010 Initiative Summits

More than 300 people from across the state attended the one-year review of the 2010 Initiative. Meetings were held in Rapid City, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.

Department of Tourism and State Development Secretary Jim Hagen does a television interview on the 2010 Initiative. The first year review summits received media coverage throughout the state.

The half-day summits opened with a general session where Department of Tourism and State Development Secretary Jim Hagen gave a brief overview of some of our key accomplishments. Registrants then attended two of four breakout sessions to offer input on ways to continue to move the 2010 Initiative forward.

Goal One - Double Visitor Spending from $600 million to
$1.2 billion by 2010
Industry leaders gathered to discuss everything from niche markets to targeted markets to potential partnerships. One area that was highlighted was the vacation packets that are featured on the state's web site.

Goal Two - Increase GSP (Gross State Product) by $10 billion by 2010
This session included an update on all the changes in the state's financing programs. Lively discussion was also held on cluster development and how each region of the state can benefit from developing clusters. Value-added agriculture and the use of renewable energy were also discussed.

Goal Three - Become a Recognized Leader in
Research and Technology
Discussion focused on Homestake Gold Mine and the need to be patient in this on-going process. There was also discussion on funding research at the state's universities and how critical that is to advancing our state. The need fro a long-term commitment to securing funding for research at the state level was also discussed.

Goal Four - Brand and Develop South Dakota's Quality of Life as the Best in America by 2010
Participants interested in arts, history, housing, tribal relations, internships and community development attended the breakout session for Goal 4. For many participants, the biggest advantage of having this breakout session was bringing together all these agencies and networking on ways to work together to promote South Dakota.