[92] MTSU's Economic Outlook Conference Offers Local, Global Perspectives

Sept. 23, 2010
CONTACT: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919; Dr. E. James Burton, 615-898-2764

MTSU’s ECONOMIC OUTLOOK CONFERENCE OFFERS LOCAL, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

MURFREESBORO—Mark A. Emkes, retired CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas Inc. and currently the commissioner of Finance and Administration for the state of Tennessee, will be the keynote speaker at Middle Tennessee State University’s Economic Outlook Conference.
The 19th annual event will be held Friday, Sept. 30, at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Murfreesboro, with registration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Emkes will speak at 9 a.m.
A registration fee of $50 per person will cover facilities, conference material and lunch. Attendees may register at the door, but lunch will not be guaranteed.
Emkes began his career at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company as an international trainee. After working in a Firestone store in Houston, he became store manager. Two years later, he went overseas where he held several managerial positions in the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Brazil and Mexico.
In 2000, he returned to the United States and became president of Bridgestone Firestone Latin America. Two years later, he became chair, CEO and president of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. In 2004, he was promoted to chair and CEO of Bridgestone Firestone Holding. He retired from the company in 2010 and now serves in Governor Bill Haslam’s cabinet.
Emkes graduated from Indiana’s DePauw University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned an M.B.A. in international management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Az. He is active in civic and humanitarian organizations.
“It is our privilege to have Mark with us this year because of his vast experience both here and abroad,” commented Dr. Jim Burton, dean of MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business. “With the University’s increasing emphasis on international education and affairs, it is appropriate to have a conference headliner who has the business breadth and depth that Mark possesses.”
Burton noted that the conference is targeted especially to bankers, business owners and managers, community officials and leaders, as well as business and economics faculty and students. The mission of the conference, he added, is to promote the idea of free enterprise and to promote events that proudly wave that banner.
Continuing the tradition of providing substantive information, Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, will provide a mid-state/regional economic update. The BERC maintains significant databases of regional, national and international information and provides research resources and databases for the MTSU community.
Dr. Donald Ratajczak, Regent's Professor of Economics Emeritus at Georgia State University and nationally known economic forecaster, will address the luncheon audience at noon. With his animated style and keen observations, Ratajczak has become a staple of the annual event.
During the lunch break, officials will present the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award.
The conference will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.
The MTSU Economic Outlook Conference is co-sponsored by the Jones College, the Jones Chair in Free Enterprise, the Business and Economic Research Center and the Jack O. Weatherford Chair of Finance.
The Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center is located at 1200 Conference Center Boulevard in Murfreesboro. For more information, contact the Jones College at 615-898-2764.

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