THE SWEDISH ARE COMING TO OKALOOSA COUNTY

If you didn't know, the Swedish are coming to Okaloosa County in a big way. As you will see by a letter from the Okaloosa County Economic Development Counsel (EDC) Chairman, Paul Hsu, this will be a significant event for this community and another great opportunity the Okaloosa County EDC has arranged to bring further economic growth to this area.



Dear EDC Members and Business Community Leaders:

As the Economic Development Council’s 2009 Chairman it gives me great pleasure to invite you to attend the March 3rd Business Expo that will take place from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Emerald Coast Conference Center.

This Business Expo will provide networking opportunities with Swedish business leaders visiting our area. Enterprise Florida’s international office in Northwest Florida has been assisting with the coordination of this special event and we anticipate a mutually beneficial meeting for all who attend.

You have opportunities to attend portions of this event that meet your interests and time availability. The display tables will be available for viewing between 10:00 and 3:00. Our speaker presentations begin at 11:30 with a lunch buffet provided. The expo’s keynote speaker and internationally successful entrepreneur, Paul Hsu, speaks at 12:15. View the attached agenda to customize your participation.

This special venue will allow you to converse with business leaders from the Swedish community and understand their business focus and how it may relate to yours.

Stockholm, Sweden has been ranked in the Top-Seven International Intelligent Companies for 2009 by the Intelligent Community Forum. Stockholm is the economic and political capital of Sweden. In the mid-90s, Stockholm established a company called Stokab to build an open-access fiber network. Today, the 4,500km network connects more than 90 competing service providers to government and business customers. Though the city already has a 98% broadband penetration rate, Stokab will also provide FTTP access to over 95,000 low-income households in public housing by the end of 2009. Stockholm also manages KISTA Science City, housing more than 1,400 companies, plus a support program for start-up and early-stage companies. The city's latest focus is to become northern Europe's quality-of-life leader by enlisting all 45,000 employees in a 3-year effort to improving housing, traffic, and the delivery of an already impressive list of online services

I look forward to being a part of this event and look forward to greeting you on March 3rd as well.


Sincerely,

Paul Hsu
Chairman, Okaloosa EDC