From JSDC… DeAnn Brunner, JSDC Business Development Coordinator attended the Business Retention Expansion International (BREI) Conference and Training in Fargo, ND.BREI is the leading professional association for business retention and expansion. Programs are designed to train and provide networks for economic development professionals to support existing business develop and expand in today’s global economy.

Economic development leaders from around the nation attended the conference. The training classes included Economic Analysis and Building Effective Teams. “The training classes were amazing and provided detailed information that will be utilized by the JSDC”, stated DeAnn Brunner, JSDC Business Development Coordinator.

The Economic Analysis class covered in depth discussions on data concepts to facilitate an analysis of the local economy, provide a means to transform data into information as well as provide a basis for identifying sectors to recruit or grow within the community. The Building Effective Teams course went over the generations in the workforce as well as ways to build an effective team.

The theme of the conference was Dynamic Community Change. The conference held sessions on tax increment financing, housing development issues in North Dakota, the impact of tourism on main street business and several others. To find out more information about the conference and BREI please go to

http://www.brei.org/